The skeleton of a 46-year-old man identified as Sikiru Yusuf was found in his room seven months after he was declared missing.
Yusuf,
a resident of 21, Jaiyesinmi Street, Aga, Ikorodu, was discovered by
his elder brother, Alhaji Basiru Yusuf, who at the instance of the
deceased’s landlady, came to pack his property.
It was gathered
that the aged landlady, who resides at the topmost floor of the
one-storey building house as the deceased, became apprehensive after he
was not seen for four months.
The Nation gathered that the nature of Yusuf’s job usually took him out of town for two or three months before he would return.
Hence,
no one raised an eyebrow when he was not seen in the first three
months, during which the stench from his decomposing corpse was passed
off as a dead rat’s smell.
When he was not seen for about five
months, it was learnt that his family members at Ikosi in Ketu were
notified and they assumed he might have travelled.
But the landlady
grew impatient by the seventh month, requesting that his family should
evacuate his belongings from the room, since he had not shown up.
This
prompted the senior Yusuf to visit his brother’s residence at about
12:30pm on Monday and forced the door open in the presence of the
landlady and other residents.
As soon as the door opened, it was
gathered that the family members and the tenants saw the skeleton of the
occupant on the floor, with a rope beside it. They said this suggested
that he might have committed suicide.
According to the landlady’s
daughter, Funmi Badewa, they did not suspect anything was wrong because
the deceased was not always around.
“At first, we thought he
must have gone for his job, which usually kept him away for two or three
months. But we became worried and contacted his family when we did not
see him after some months.
“We went to his family at Ikosi in
Ketu and asked after him. But they too said they have not seen him and
that he probably travelled. When it was seven months, his brother now
came and said they would pack his things since no one has seen him.
“They
broke the door and that was when his skeleton was found on the ground.
We also saw a rope, which means he might have committed suicide.
“There
was a time we perceived bad odour, but we thought that a rat might have
died somewhere. The smell lasted several days. No one even thought it
could be a dead human being,” she said.
The deceased’s brother
was said to have rushed to Ikorodu Police Division to make a report and a
team of detectives, who followed him back to the scene, evacuated the
body.
It could not be ascertained if the deceased was married or
have children, as his neighbours said he lived alone in the apartment.
Confirming
the development, the state command’s spokesperson, Dolapo Badmos, a
Superintendent of Police (SP), said the body has been deposited at a
public morgue for autopsy.
“The complainant said he was invited
by his brother’s landlady to evacuate his belongings because he
absconded and locked his room and parlour apartment up for seven months.
“However,
when the door was forced open, it was discovered that the said Sikiru
Yusuf had died long ago as his skeleton was found on the floor.
“On
receipt of complaint, a team of detectives visited, examined and
photographed the scene, while the remains was removed and deposited at
public morgue for autopsy. Investigation is ongoing to unravel what
actually transpired,” she said.
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| Hose of where man lived before he died |
