Boy,13, kills classmate over damaged earphone

The police in Kogi have arrested a 13-
year-old boy, Yinusa Halilu, for allegedly killing his
friend and classmate, Mustapha Kazeem, 12, over
a damaged earpiece. ACP Austin Evakhabokun, the Acting
Commissioner of Police in Kogi, made this known
to journalists on Monday in Lokoja. Evakhabokun said that a scuffle ensued between
the suspect and the deceased, both primary
school pupils, when the suspect demanded the
return of the earpiece he lent to the deceased. He said that the late Kazeem said that the earpiece
was damaged and Halilu demanded monetary
compensation for the damaged earphone. He said that the demand enraged the deceased
who reportedly called the suspect a thief, adding
that this resulted in an exchange of hot words, as
Halilu insisted on collecting the money by force. Evakhabokun said that Kazeem became furious
and rushed into the house, brought out a sharp
cutlass and inflicted cuts on the suspect’s head. He said that the suspect reportedly rushed to a
nearby restaurant with his machete cuts and
picked a sharp knife, with which he stabbed the
deceased in the chest, leading to his death. In an interview with newsmen, the suspect said
that he borrowed the telephone earpiece from
someone, saying that he insisted on replacing it
since he did not know what to tell the owner. He said that Kazeem was his friend and that they
were both in Primary Five. Halilu said that the deceased hit him on his head
with a machete, adding that in retaliation, he
stabbed him in the chest, which led to his death. The police also paraded 14 armed robbery
suspects, including an 85-year-old man, whose
nephew was involved in car robbery, and a
homicide suspect. (NAN)