A 15-year-old boy whose name could not be obtained as at the time of filing this report has been arrested for stabbing a 37-year-old footballer, Johnpaul Etugha to death during a football match at Lt Ntu Primary School playground, in Imo State, on Tuesday.
The incident occurred when Etugha, who was on the reserve bench, asked the boy to stop encroaching onto the pitch during a football match.
Etugha became furious when the teenager refused to obey him, he got up from the bench and rebuked the boy.
The 15-year-old boy remained unrepentant, this angered Etugha who went straight for a stick and didn’t hesitate to hit the teenager with it.
The boy did not waste time to fight back, according to an eyewitness, he took a knife and stabbed the footballer in his chest. Etugha 37, died on the spot.
Police spokesperson in Imo State, Orlando Ikeokwu, who confirmed the incident, said the Ngor Okpala Police Station, which arrested the suspect, had transferred him to the homicide section at the command headquarters in Owerri.
Ikeokwu disclosed that the state Commissioner of Police had ordered a comprehensive investigation into the incident.
