Tragedy struck in Gwallameji, a student community in Bauchi, the Bauchi State capital, when a man, identified simply as Solomon, allegedly stabbed one Patience Zakariya to death.
The deceased, who was a National Diploma graduate of the Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi, was allegedly stabbed to death by Solomon, whom her friends described as the deceased’s boyfriend.
When Northern City News visited the Destiny Connection Villa Lodge, the hall of residence of the deceased on Sunday, students were seen discussing the tragedy in hushed tones and none of those approached was willing to speak on record.
However, a source, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of his safety, said the incident happened after an outing at a popular club around the area at midnight on Friday.
He said, “I stay in the same compound with Patience although I was not at home when the incident happened; I only came back the following day to hear about it.
“What I was told was that she went to a club in Gwallameji with her boyfriend and some of her friends, but while they were there, I was told that they had an argument and they came back home. The boyfriend does not stay here, but comes here very often.
“I learnt that while they were arguing, she broke a bottle on his head, maybe in self-defence, but Solomon took a knife and stabbed her and he ran away. So, her friends rushed her to hospital in Yelwa, where she was treated and brought back home.”
The source described the deceased, whom he said had lived in the house since 2018, as a peace lover and easy-going person, who got along with almost everyone.
According to him, until the incident that led to her death, none of them knew her to be violent.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Bauchi State Command, Kamal Abubakar, confirmed the incident in a telephone interview on Sunday.
Abubakar, a Deputy Superintendent of Police said, “The incident is true, but we didn’t get the details directly from either the family of the deceased or that of the boy; we got it from a good Samaritan.
“We got information that the incident happened on Friday night in Gwallameji. What we heard was that the deceased, whose name was given only as Patience, went to a club in Gwallameji with her friends. So, her boyfriend saw her there with another man and accosted her.
“She left there and went back to her room and the boyfriend followed her there and a fight started and the boy took a knife and stabbed her twice. So, her friends rushed her to a clinic in Yelwa for treatment.
“Without informing the police, the clinic treated her and discharged her the same day and her friends took her back home.”
He added that the police got involved and arrested staff members of the clinic for failing to report the matter after she was rushed back to the clinic and died and her remains were still in the custody of the health facility.
The police spokesman assured members of the public that the command was on the trail of the culprit and would ensure that anybody connected to the crime was prosecuted.”