One of 2Face Idibia’s popular songs from his ‘Grass 2 Grace’ album is playing in my head as I read this story. It goes something like “… girl if love is a crime, I’m willing to be wanted…” but the crime for which a former councillor of Amuwo-Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State, Onimole Babatunde, will be answering for, is the crime of allegedly stabbing an 18-year-old girl in the neck for refusing his advances at a night club.Mariam Abubakar, on October 26, which happened to be Sallah day, went to Pearl Habour Night Club in Rochester Garden Hotel, Festac to “catch weekend fun.”Her friend, who pleaded anonymity, said they only went there “to hang out” when Babatunde, who was obviously drunk, started to make advances to Mariam.
“She was not interested in him so she did not answer when he called her. He was dancing and Mariam (Abubakar) was sitting at a table. He was obviously drunk and he came to pull her.
“He was manhandling her and she insisted he should leave her alone. This did not go down well with Babatunde and he was really angry. He went to a corner, took a bottle, broke it and stabbed Mariam in the neck.”
According to the source, Babatunde fled the scene immediately.
A police source at Area E disclosed that the preliminary report obtained indicated that the incident occurred at about 1:30am.
He said Mariam bled profusely at the scene before she was taken to Naval Hospital, Ojo by sympathisers at the night club. Due to the inability of her sympathizers to produce a police report, she was not immediately admitted at the hosppital.
“That was when someone notified our station (Area E Command) and we went to take her to Ajeromi General Hospital,” he said.
It was learnt that as Abubakar was being taken to the general hospital, she slipped into a coma.
She was said to have been revived at the general hospital. A nurse at the hospital, who craved anonymity, said that she had lost about 20 per cent of her blood.
She is currently under intensive care at the hospital.
However, the police expressed displeasure at their inability to gather tangible evidence as the night club workers destroyed evidence at the scene of the alleged crime by mopping Mariam’s blood off the floor.
The hotel has currently been sealed off by the police because the management did not report the incident.
Babatunde has however been detailed following a tip off on his whereabouts – he was holing up somewhere in Ikoyi and when the police got wind of it, they invited him to come write a statement which he obliged and was subsequently arrested.
Lagos state Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide, said she had not been briefed on the matter
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