Man allegedly kills friend over political arguments in Bauchi

A middle-aged man, Ibrahim Jadda, has been murdered, allegedly by his friend, Sallau, following a disagreement at their workplace in Bauchi metropolis.

The two friends worked together at a busy car wash along Gombe Road in Bauchi. The incident occurred on Thursday.

A source familiar with the incident disclosed that the two men had engaged in a heated political argument the previous day before closing for the day. Their colleagues reportedly intervened and separated them before the disagreement escalated into a physical fight.

The source added that the two parted ways without carrying out their usual end-of-day stocktaking and profit-sharing, a development that reportedly angered Sallau.

On Thursday, the late Ibrahim Jadda was the first to arrive at the garage. He went into their cubicle to change his clothes and prepare for the day’s work, with a car and a carpet awaiting his attention.

A few minutes later, Sallau reportedly arrived and entered the cubicle, where he met Ibrahim preparing for the day’s work. Ibrahim was said to have greeted Sallau, but the latter did not respond, apparently still holding on to the previous day’s disagreement.

Sallau was alleged to have drawn a dagger and stabbed Ibrahim in the chest, leaving him bleeding profusely.

Another source, who works at a nearby car wash, said that after stabbing Ibrahim, Sallau locked the cubicle and fled without anyone realising what had happened.

According to the source, “After a while, people started asking why the garage was not operating while work was waiting, with neither Ibrahim nor Sallau around. It got us worried, and someone went to the cubicle, but it was locked.”

He added, “A few people around confirmed that they saw the two of them when they arrived but could not say what happened. The cubicle was forced open, and Ibrahim was discovered lying in a pool of blood, barely alive.”

The source said Ibrahim was immediately rushed to the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH) for medical attention after the police were informed. Unfortunately, he was pronounced dead.

He added that Sallau had fled the scene but was traced to Liman Katagum in Bauchi Local Government Area, where he was arrested by the police. He is currently in detention.

Efforts to obtain an official reaction from the state police command were unsuccessful, as the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Nafiu Habib, did not respond to a text message sent to his phone. His number was also unreachable when called as of the time of filing this report.