Residents of Aribisala Street in the Igando area of Lagos State were left in shock on Thursday after a woman, identified only as Fatima, allegedly cut off the tongue of her neighbor, Mitsura.
The altercation occurred while the two women were doing laundry at their shared residence.
The conflict reportedly began when Fatima, in her early thirties, accused Mitsura of using her bucket without permission. This accusation escalated into a heated argument, which ultimately resulted in a physical fight between them.
During the fight, Fatima allegedly strangled Mitsura and bit off her protruded tongue in the process.
Meanwhile, the landlady who identified herself simply as Mama Ibadan, said she had earlier settled a fight between them.
She said, “They were both washing when neighbours called to inform me that they were fighting each other over the bucket. I quickly rushed down there to settle the fight and also appeal to both of them. It was after I had left that I heard people shouting that someone’s tongue had been cut off. It was when I got there that I saw Mitsura’s mouth soaked in blood. That was how I got to know that her tongue had been bitten off by Fatima.”
Mitsura who just turned 18 years was immediately rushed to the hospital for treatment. She was however said to have been rejected at three different private hospitals before she was later admitted at the Igando General Hospital.
“We immediately took her to a nearby hospital but she was rejected. This was the same with two other hospitals that we went to before we later took her to the general hospital. Fatima’s husband who was called and informed about what happened had also gone to the hospital,” a neighbour who gave her name as Funke told our correspondent.
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Another neighbor, who wished to remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of the incident, described the victim, Mitsura, as an orphan who had recently moved in with friends renting an apartment in the building.
She explained, “Mitsura had lost her parents. So due to accommodation challenges, she decided to move in with her female friends who rented an apartment here. The friends were not around when the incident happened. But when they heard what occurred, they rushed home quickly. After taking her to the hospital, they went to the police station to file a report.”
We also learned that Fatima attempted to flee the scene after the altercation but was restrained by some residents.
At the time of this report, Fatima was in the process of being handed over to the police for prosecution.
When reached for comment, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, stated he was unaware of the incident, saying, “I am not aware.”
