Taiwo Jimoh
Ogunleye
According to eyewitnesses, Ogunleye,
a mother of three, was stabbed in the stomach on July 29, 2021, at about 8pm,
at Bionik Hotel, Alamo Street, leading to her intestines gushing out.
She explained that trouble started
after her regular customer, Rufai, who is presently on the run, called and left
instruction that she should prepare him a plate of noodles for him. He promised
he would come in a few minutes to pick it.
Ogunleye, who is a divorcee, recalled
that after she was through with the noodles, she waited endlessly for Rufai,
but he didn’t come until hours later.
She said: "When Rufai
eventually arrived, he demanded for his plate of the noodles, which I served
him. He said he couldn’t eat it anymore because it had gone cold. We started
arguing and then I left him at the bar. I went into the kitchen to prepare noodles
for another customer. I didn’t want to waste it and so I gave it to Akpan, the
manager of the hotel to eat. While I was preparing noodles for another customer
in the kitchen, I was surprised when I saw Rufai in the kitchen He brought out N1000,
saying I should give him his balance of N400, claiming he didn’t want trouble.”
Ogunleye said that immediately she
gave Rufai his balance, she asked him to leave the kitchen.
She narrated: “But before I knew
what was happening, he grabbed a pot of pepper I had boiled and poured it on
me. Before I could get my bearing, I saw a knife in his hand and then in my
stomach. Truthfully, I had bitten and injured him. If not because I escaped
from the kitchen, I would have been dead by now. When I saw my intestines out,
I screamed for help. I didn’t want to die, and it was some customers at the
hotel that provided cloth for me to wrap around my stomach. My body was covered
with blood; even those that assisted me into the car that took me to the
hospital were also covered with blood.”
Ogunleye was rushed to Magboro
Health Centre, where she was rejected. She was then moved to the Lagos State
University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, unfortunately doctors were on
strike.
She was then again rushed to the
Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, Mushin, where she was
finally accepted.
Ogunleye said: “It was when I was
crying that I should be injected to death because of pains, that I was rushed
into the theater. I thank God the operation was successful.”
She would later hear through her
elder sister that Rufai’s family sent N70, 000 and another N30, 000 later. She
was also told that the owner of the hotel, where the incident took place had
also contributed N30, 000 towards her treatment.
Ogunleye said: “I was unconscious
when I was rushed to the hospital because I had lost a lot of blood. All I could
remember was being rushed into the theater. When I opened my eyes later, I was
in the hospital ward. After the operation, doctors abandoned me due to their
strike and also because I had no money. I’m appealing to well-meaning Nigerians
and owner of Bionik Hotel, to come to my aid. I don’t want to die. There are
some prescribed drugs I’m yet to buy because of lack of money. My family
members have tried so much, but presently, I need further financial assistance.”
Rufai’s elder sister, Mrs. Abosede
Omobolanle, described the incident as, “unfortunate.” She said it was not the
first time that Rufai would be buying noodles from Ogunleye.
She said: “I was not at the scene of
the incident, but I was told Olayinka was the first to grab a knife,
threatening to stab my brother. Rufai, however, succeeded in wrestling the
knife from her grip and stabbed her instead. After my brother had stabbed her,
she ran to our house, covered with blood, to report to my mother that Rufai had
stabbed her. We followed her to the hotel where the incident occurred, and it
was from there she was rushed to the hospital. So far, we have spent N185, 000
on her.”
Asked the whereabouts of Rufai, Omobolanle
replied that she didn’t know. She added that several attempts to get him on his
phone line had been futile.
She further added: “My brother was
also stabbed in his hands, back and shoulder. We even borrowed the money we
spent on Olayinka.”
Some customers at the hotel also
complained about Ogunleye, alleging that she usually flies into rage and used
to threaten to stab customers at the slightest provocation.”
One of the customers, Oluwaseun
Oshinuga, said: “There was a day Olayinka also threatened to stab me, just
because we had a minor issue. On that fateful day, I had also asked her to
prepared noodles for me, she said no. I then asked her if I had ever owed her.
Before I knew what was happening, she dashed into the kitchen and returned with
a knife, threatening to stab me. The truth is that in that clash between her
and Rufai, she was at fault. She needs to remember that the customer is always
right.”
Oshinuga further explained that
usually, whenever Ogunleye prepared noodles for Rufai, she takes it to him, but
on that fateful day, for reasons unknown, Ogunleye
broke the tradition.
“On that day, she didn’t take the
noodles to him after preparing it. Only God knows why. Notwithstanding that,
Rufai came and paid for the noodles and then asked for his N400 balance, stressing
that he didn’t want trouble.
Even when Rufai didn’t eat the
noodles, he still paid,” Oshinuga stated.
Oshinuga remembered that the owner
of the hotel, where the incident happened, came out to plead with Rufai to
forgive Ogunleye, so that peace could reign.
Oshinuga said: “The issue of the noodles
had been settled between her and Rufai, yet Olayinka continued to hurl insults at
Rufai. It was annoyance that made Rufai to go to Olayinka’s kitchen to fight
her, but instead they both ended up stabbing each other. Olayinka was the first
person to stab Rufai. Since then, I had not seen Rufai in the hotel; even when
policemen from Ibafo Police Station came, Rufai had disappeared. There was a
time Olayinka attempted to stab another woman, also over a minor issue. I don't
know why she likes trouble.”
Speaking on behalf of the owner of Bionik
Hotel, Mr. Adenusi Abiodun, Barrister John Olobayo, said Ogunleye was a tenant at
the hotel. He said that Ogunleye only uses the facility to sell food. She also
sleeps in one of the rooms. The lawyer said that there had been too many
complaints against the victim, including from her customers.
Olobayo said: “The police should go
after Rufai because my client, Mr.
Adenusi Abiodun, wrote boldly on the wall of the hotel that fighting and
smoking of Indian hemp will not be entertained in the hotel. Rufai came to the
hotel to eat, after which argument ensued between him and Olayinka, leading to
the stabbing. We have not seen Rufai since the incident. When Olayinka was
stabbed, my client paid N30, 000 for her treatment. It was also on record
that Olayinka is an aggressive woman. She was responsible for her action.”
Olobayo continued: “The management
of the hotel has done its part by paying for her medical bills. The business of
my client had been affected because of the incident, and many customers are no
longer patronizing the hotel. Many of them are afraid that the police will come
to arrest them there. According to my client, that was not the first time Olayinka
would be fighting customers. She had also been sent packing on several
occasions, but she would return, pleading, promising to turn a new leaf. My
client, who has a gentle and sympathetic nature, always forgives and takes her
back. If my client has to further assist her, it should be of his free will, he
shouldn’t be forced.”
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