From Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure
A 20-year-old apprentice, Josiah Godwin, has allegedly hacked down his master, Savior Joseph, and dumped his body in a well at Imafon Community in Akure South Local Government Area of Ondo State.
Trouble reportedly started when the deceased, who specialised in fixing POP asbestos, smashed the phone of the apprentice on the floor over an unsettled dispute.
Narrating the incident, the elder brother of the deceased, Odey Julius Ogbaji, said the 27- year-old deceased body was found four days ago in a well at the site where the deceased and the apprentice went to work at Imafon community.
He said; “Last week Tuesday, the deceased called me in the morning but, on Wednesday, I tried his number but couldn’t get through. I thought he had a flat battery, until Saturday when I was called by another younger brother of mine.
“Afterwards, the deceased apprentice was contacted. When they got the boy, they asked him about the whereabouts of his master and he said his boss woke him up at night, collected his phone, smashed it on the floor and began to beat him and later asked him to sleep.
“He said, the following day, he decided to leave the site. So, we asked him, how will he wake up in the morning without seeing your boss and you left the site? He said he thought his master went to the toilet when he left.
“When we checked the phone which he said was smashed on the floor by the deceased, there was no scratch on it. Aside from that, you switched off your phone and you didn’t report to anybody,” he explained.
Also, an in-law to the deceased, Mr Ogar Julius, said the suspect has been arrested and transferred to the Police Criminal Investigative Department (CID), at the Policy headquarters, Akure.
All efforts to reach the Police Public Relations Officer in the State, Funmilayo Odunlami-Omisayan, proved abortive at the time of filing this report.