In a shocking and tragic turn of events, a yet-to-be-named revenue collector for Oredo Local Government Council in Edo State lost his life in a violent encounter with a wheelbarrow pusher over a ₦50.00 ticket.
The incident, which unfolded along Mission Road on a Friday morning, left residents, shop owners, and hawkers in a state of pandemonium.
Dr. Tom Obaseki, the Chairman of the local government council, now faces the aftermath of this gruesome incident that has shocked the community.
According to reports, the confrontation began when the late revenue collector kicked the wheelbarrow of the pusher, causing its contents to spill onto the road due to the alleged failure to produce ₦50.00 for the required ticket.
This initial disagreement escalated into a verbal altercation, with witnesses stating that the wheelbarrow pusher, in a fit of anger, retrieved a knife strapped to his waist and stabbed the revenue collector, resulting in fatal injuries.
Attempts by onlookers to apprehend the assailant were thwarted by the knife-wielding perpetrator.
After ensuring the demise of the revenue collector, the wheelbarrow pusher shocked witnesses by turning the weapon on himself, cutting his throat and succumbing to death on the spot.
The bodies of both victims were later evacuated by operatives from the Oba Market Police Division.
An eyewitness, speaking on condition of anonymity, criticized what he termed “human rights violations by overzealous revenue collectors” in Benin.
He acknowledged the inappropriate approach of the deceased revenue collector but condemned the resort to violence.
The eyewitness shared, “His approach was very wrong. But, nothing justifies murder. The economic hardship is too much.
Nobody knew that the wheelbarrow pusher had a long knife on his waist. When he brought out the long knife, we were surprised.”
The same knife used in the fatal attack on the revenue collector became the tool of the wheelbarrow pusher’s demise, as he turned it on himself in a tragic end to the confrontation.
In the aftermath, other revenue collectors of the Oredo local government council have temporarily withdrawn their services.
The State Police Command’s spokesman, SP Chidi Nwabuzor, confirmed the incident in a phone interview, adding another layer to the complex narrative surrounding this unsettling clash.
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