Nigerian man stabbed to death in South Africa

ANKARA

A Nigerian resident in South Africa was killed allegedly over a business dispute with a female client, Nigerian local media reported on Wednesday.

Ikenna Innocent Otugo, 41, was allegedly stabbed to death in Empangeni, in eastern South Africa by unknown assailants over a business disagreement, reported The Nation, a Nigeria-based daily.

Otugo's murder comes amid the killings of dozens of Nigerians in a sever wave of alleged xenophobic attacks in South Africa, which began in early September.

Otugo was allegedly stabbed on Tuesday by assailants who accompanied an unsatisfied customer whose cellphone he had repaired, according to the Punch newspaper, also based in Nigeria.

"Otugo died on the way to the hospital following the stabbing. We have reported the incident to the police and national secretariat of our union, NUSA," Sylvester Okonkwo, acting provincial chairman of Nigerian Union, South Africa (NUSA), was quoted by the Punch.

"His body is now in the mortuary awaiting autopsy," he reportedly added.

Dozens of Nigerians have died in alleged xenophobic violence that erupted last month, targeting Nigerian businesses across South Africa, with retaliatory attacks taking place in Nigeria against South African businesses.