Man, 22, chops off friend’s arm over woman

A quarrel between two friends over a woman turned tragic on Wednesday when one of them chopped off the arm of the other with a machete in Dakwa town, an Abuja suburb. The suspect, Yusuf Hassan, 22, was apprehended and detained at the Zuba Police Division while the victim, Abubakar Umar, was taken to Kubwa […]

A quarrel between two friends over a woman turned tragic on Wednesday when one of them chopped off the arm of the other with a machete in Dakwa town, an Abuja suburb.

The suspect, Yusuf Hassan, 22, was apprehended and detained at the Zuba Police Division while the victim, Abubakar Umar, was taken to Kubwa General Hospital for treatment.

A source said the suspect also sustained injury on his head, said to be as a result of mob action after he attempted to run away.

Speaking from his hospital bed yesterday, Umar said one Habiba (the woman at the centre of the quarrel) had relocated with her parents from Kaduna some months ago, and that before they could get a room to rent, he gave his room to them in his family house as a temporary shelter and relocated to his friend’s room.

“My friend, Yusuf Hassan, started developing interest in the lady. However he suspected me of also having same feeling for her, which is not true. That was how I started having problem with him to the extend he once warned me that it could be the reason for him to terminate my life. The family got another place and I eventually returned to my room,” he added. 

Speaking to our reporter earlier, some witnesses said the victim who invited about five friends to deal with the accused person, located him (Umar) at a farm in the outskirts of the town where he was working along with his father and threatened to deal with him. The witnesses added that the people Hassan brought withdrew from the mission having recognised Umar as their acquaintance.

“He later met him at home and demanded that they must finish the fight. He attacked Umar with a machete but as he (Umar) attempted to dodge it hit his hand and cut it off,” the source said.

 The Zuba Divisional Police Officer, CSP Fodio Sani, confirmed the incident, saying it was a case of “two-fighting”, adding that the two persons would be taken to court for prosecution after thorough investigation.