By Emmanuel Udom
Fresh allegations making the rounds in communities and markets in Ifo, Ogun state, have questioned the cause of the murder of a female trader on Sallah day at Ifo market in the state.
It could be recalled that while Muslim faithful were celebrating their festivities, this year, one Mrs Blessing Ezeh, who sells clothes and runs a pos business, was allegedly stabbed to death.
Unconfirmed reports have it that an area boy and tout, suspected to be an ex-convict, and into drugs, approached the lady and demanded money from her to celebrate the Muslim festivities .
The suspect,t according to sources around alaj drug enclave, located at bank busstop, along Lagos_Abeokuta expressway, Ogun state, was jailed for 18 years due to his cult and illicit drugs activities and may have developed mental illness along the line Son of a hustling carpenter father, who is resident along the railway line at Alaja, in Ifo. However, recent allegations have it that Usher, as the suspect is popularly called, may not have set out initially to stab Blessing.
According to our sources, the suspect arrived at Iyana Oja market junction, where Blessing’s shop is located and was asked a woman selling tomatoes, pepper, and other items near the place to give him money for the Sallah celebrations. While the tomato trader was pleading with the suspect to wait a bit for the market to improve, Mrs Eze was alleged to have spoken in an unruly manner to the suspect, who became angry, left her and returned later to stab her.
However, our correspondent further gathered that what happened on that fateful day may have been engineered by the family of the woman in Ebongi state, who are alleged to be fetishists
A credible Igbo community leader in the area alleged that recently,y some elders from the village of the woman stormed Ogun state and said that in her family, there is a certain old man above the age of 100 years, who is allegedly blocking the progress of members of the family.
But, Mr Ope, the operations officer of Amotekun in Ifo, Ogun state, rescued the suspect on time, when he was almost beaten to death by suspected angry traders, passersby and others on that fateful day, before the police came to carry the battered suspect to their station.