10-year-old boy strangles friend during football match in Lagos

A 10-year-old boy identified simply as Israel, has strangled his friend, Ezekiel, at Powerline in the Ejigbo area of Lagos State.

PUNCH Online learnt that the incident happened on Friday while they were playing football in the community.

A police source who spoke to our correspondent on Saturday said the match was ongoing when an argument ensued between the two boys.

According to the source, Israel reached for 10-year-old Ezekiel’s neck in the process and strangled him till he lost consciousness and stopped breathing.

The source said, “A report was received at Ejigbo Division on Friday from a complainant that stated that his son, Israel aged 10 was playing football with some boys at Oluwole Street, Powerline Ejigbo, where his mother’s shop is situated when he had an argument with one of the boys named Ezekiel aged 10, who held him on the neck and strangled him until he died.”

The late Ezekiel was said to have been rushed to the hospital where he was confirmed dead by the doctor on duty.

“A team of detectives visited the scene, where a photograph of the corpse was taken and the body was taken to the General Hospital in the Isolo area of the state where the doctor confirmed him dead,” the source added.

When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the incident.

He said, “The body has been transferred to the mortuary for post-mortem examination. The suspect is in police custody, and an investigation is in progress.”