Nonso Okolie, a 34-year-old trader, has been accused of attempting to kill one Chidera Obiagu by stabbing him with a pair of scissors.
Okolie was said to have attacked Obiagu inside his shop, stabbing him in the hand, nose, left shoulder and right eye.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the duo, who are neighbours in a popular market on the Lagos Island, had not been in talking terms for almost three years.
Although they were not friends, our correspondent learnt that they had not, however, engaged each other in any scuffle prior to the incident.
Wednesday, February 11, 2015, became the climax of the silent feud.
Obiagu and another neighbour in the market, Ifeanyi, were said to be cracking jokes.
Both men were said to have jokingly told a female customer, who had entered Okolie’s shop, to be careful with her bag because there were thieves around.
The customer was said to have hurriedly left the shop for fear of being dispossessed of her belongings.
Okolie, who was said to be angered by the statement, felt that they were indirectly calling him a thief.
He confronted the men over the statement and it resulted in an argument, which later degenerated into a fight between Okolie and Ifeanyi.
After other neighbours intervened, Okolie was said to have gone after Obiagu ─ the other party in the case.
They started another round of fighting and Okolie allegedly stabbed Obiagu several times with a pair of scissors.
He was on Friday arraigned before a Lagos Magistrates’ Court, Tinubu, Lagos Island on two counts bordering on assault and attempted murder.
The charges read in part, “That you. Nonso Okolie, of No. 31/33 Martins Street, Lagos Island, on February 11, 2015, did unlawfully attempted to kill one Chidera Obiagu by using a pair of scissors to stab him on the nose and shoulder.”
The police said the charges were contrary to and punishable under sections 228 (1) and 171 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2011.
Okolie pleaded not guilty.
The magistrate, Mrs. A. T. Omoyele, granted him bail in the sum of N200,000.
The matter was adjourned till March 12, 2015
