A 25-year-old man, Hammed Usman Tunde, has been reportedly stabbed to death by his friend, identified simply as Gafar, following a heated argument over a woman in the Oja Gboro area of Ilorin, Kwara State.

The tragic incident occurred on Tuesday evening while the two friends, described as close companions, were buying sugarcane from a roadside vendor.

Eyewitnesses said the disagreement, which started as a minor argument, quickly escalated into a fight, during which Gafar, aged 21, allegedly stabbed Tunde in the chest with a knife.

“The argument was about a girlfriend they were both interested in. Before we knew it, Gafar brought out a knife and stabbed his friend,” an eyewitness who requested anonymity said.

The victim, a resident of Ile-Soro 2 in Oja Gboro, was rushed to a nearby private hospital but was later referred to the General Hospital, Ilorin, where he was confirmed dead on arrival.

The suspect, said to be from Ile Olowo in the same area, fled immediately after the attack. His whereabouts and those of his family members remain unknown as of the time of this report.

Confirming the incident on Thursday, the spokesperson for the Kwara State Police Command, SP Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, said the command received a distress call around 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday and dispatched officers to the scene.

She explained that preliminary investigations revealed that Gafar stabbed Tunde before escaping. When operatives visited the suspect’s family home, they discovered that the entire household had also fled.

The Commissioner of Police, CP Adekimi Ojo, has since commiserated with the family of the deceased and ordered a discreet investigation into the matter, assuring that efforts are ongoing to apprehend the fleeing suspect.

He also commended residents of Oja Gboro for remaining calm and avoiding any act of jungle justice, urging them to trust the police to ensure justice is served.