A hawker selling waist belts in Abuja narrowly escaped death after one of two men who posed as customers attacked him, slashing his throat before fleeing with his goods.
The incident occurred on Wednesday morning at Gate 1 in Dutse-Alhaji, Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), where the victim, 25-year-old Babangida Abdullahi, conducts his business.
Recounting the ordeal from his hospital bed at Kubwa General Hospital, Abdullahi explained that the men initially approached him as customers and expressed interest in buying a belt.
“One of them picked one of my belts worth N1,500 and kept it inside his pocket. I confronted him about his action, but he refused to give the belt back to me, neither did he pay for it.
“He went ahead to bring out a sharp object from his pocket and cut me around my neck before fleeing the scene by crossing the expressway,” he said.
A health official at the hospital said that a police officer had brought the victim in for treatment. The official added that a surgery was performed on his neck, involving veins close to his throat’s artery.
However, the official expressed concern that no family member or associate of the victim had come forward, leaving the hospital staff to personally cover the cost of medications, injections, and other necessary treatments.
In response, the Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Emmanuel Musa, assured that the hospital would continue to care for the victim while efforts were made to locate his relatives.