Businessman stabbed to death in Niger

The police command in Niger State is investigating the alleged stabbing to death of a businessman, Mr Yusuf Abubakar, in Chanchaga Local Government Area of the state.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Wasiu Abiodun confirmed the incident on Monday in Minna.
“I can confirm to you that the incident occurred and investigations are ongoing to unravel the root cause and also arrest the fleeing suspects.
Mr Tofik Mukaila, an eyewitness and resident of Barkin Sale/Morris in Chanchaga LGA, said that two suspected thieves allegedly stabbed Abubakar to death about 8 pm on Saturday.
Mukaila said that the suspects stabbed the deceased to death for refusing to release his money and telephone to them.
“I was seeing off a friend about 8pm on Saturday when I saw two boys running to the main road and trying to stop a tricycle going to Mobile round-about.
” I did not suspect anything as the boys boarded the Keke and left.
“On my way home, I noticed that the deceased ,who used to sell fuel, vehicle lubricants and recharge cards by the road, was lying lifeless on the ground and I called on neighbours around,” he said.
Mukaila said that when neighbours and other passersby arrived the scene, family members of the deceased who live near his business premises in the area were alerted.
Alhaji Abubakar Idris, the father of the deceased, said that his late son was 23 years old and unmarried.
Idris, 72, with tears on his face, said that his son was stabbed on the chest and stomach, making his intestines hang out from his belly.
He said that when the suspects intercepted his son, they demanded for the proceeds from the day’s sales and his handset, but he refused and struggled with them; they stabbed him and made away with the items.
Idris, who appealed to the police to fish out the killers, said that was the only way to console the family and to serve as deterrent to other criminals.
Abubakar was buried on Sunday, according to Islamic rites.
Also, Dr Suleiman Ladan, another resident of Morris, said that the suspected thieves had been operating in the area for more than two years.
“The thieves have been operating here for more than two years now and dispossessing women of their handbags and also snatching phones from their victims in the evening,” he said.
The police recovered the knife the suspects used in stabbing Abubakar to death at the scene of the incident on Sunday.