The police in Ondo State have taken into custody a 20-year-old apprentice who allegedly killed his master and dumped the corpse in a well.
The incident occurred in Imafon in the Akure South Local Government Area of the state.
The suspect, Josiah Godwin, served the deceased, Saviour Joseph, as an apprentice in POP asbestos works in the area.
Sources said the suspect killed his master in a brawl over a telephone handset.
The master was said to have destroyed the apprentice’s handset, leading to the fatal brawl.
A relative of the deceased, Odey Ogbaji, told journalists in Akure on Thursday that the body of Mr Joseph, who was 27, was found on Sunday in a well at a building site where the two had gone to work at Imafon.
He said he spoke on phone with the deceased last week Tuesday before going out to work, but became worried when he could not reach him the following day.
“I thought he had a flat battery, until Saturday that I was called by another younger brother of mine who the deceased followed, who also told me that he could not reach him,” he said.
“Afterwards, the apprentice was contacted about the whereabouts of his master and he said his boss woke him up at night, smashed his phone 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 his boss and left the site? He replied that he thought his master went to the toilet when he left.
“When we checked the phone he said was smashed on the floor, there was no scratch on it.
“Besides that, the suspect had switched off his phone and didn’t report the matter to anybody.”
Mr Ogbaji said they later found the body in the well after.
Police spokesperson in the state, Funmilayo Odunlami, confirmed the incident.
“We have commenced investigation into the matter and the suspect is currently in our custody,” she said.
She further said the matter would be charged to court as soon as investigations were concluded.
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