A landlord, John Aderemi Abiola, was found dead in his room in the municipality of Adeosun/Idi Orogbo, Ido municipality, Oyo state, almost four years after he was last seen in December 2018.
According to the Nigerian Tribune, the discovery was made after the community, with the approval of police authorities, decided to go to his property to clear the bush on his property that had overgrown his fence to the nearest house, causing an invasion of reptiles.
As 2019 rolled into 2020, residents wondered where the man might be.
Although he told two of those with whom he had previously communicated of his intention to go to Port Harcourt, Rivers State and return for the Ileya ceremony in 2018, he did not see him for the celebration and afterwards made them believe he would stay there he originally came from.
Calls to his phone lines went through no one else.
After noticing that weeds had grown bushy on his property, the municipality’s landlords reportedly decided in a meeting to find a way to gain access to the premises to clear the bush.
However, they are said to have scrapped the idea because of the implications in the law.
From then until 2021, until 2022 draws to a close, residents of the community, unaware of his whereabouts, decided to go again and clear the bush.
It was learned that the move was being made again when the owner of the property next door to Mr Abiola’s house moved in about two years ago after construction was completed.
But the invasion of his apartment by snakes crawling out of the nearby compound made him concerned for the safety of his family members.
This is said to have prompted the community to contact Apete Police Station again, where they were agreed to do what was necessary.
So on Sunday the community decided to hire workers to clear the bush.
The house was built at the back of the property while the front had dense bush that was inaccessible.
When the workers got there with some rental companies and started work, the first thing that caught their eye was Abiola’s Volkswagen Golf, license plate number AKD769DC, which had been obscured by the bush in front of the clearing.
As the building came into view, it was noticed that the window of Abiola’s room was open, arousing curiosity.
One of the landlords, Mohammed Ademola, who also worked for and had dealings with Abiola, decided to check the contents of the room.
However, he was shocked when he saw the skeleton on the homeowner’s bed. Ademola sounded the alarm, causing others to run to the window.
They were all shocked and the news spread quickly. It was learned that Apete’s Divisional Police Officer, SP Grace Akinsehinwa, was immediately briefed, prompting her to dispatch detectives to the scene to investigate and act.
Speaking to the Nigerian Tribune, Central Chair of the Adeosun/Idi Orogbo Landlords’ Association, Oluwafemi Omilana, said the late Abiola always paid his dues.
“But we found that he does not associate with others and has only come to the landlords’ meeting once. His house has a high fence and was built with plenty of room in the back in front of the gate.
“We noted his absence from the community, although he didn’t stay home most of the time.
He used to travel to Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
He was an engineer. His enclosure had become so bushy that snakes could just be seen crawling from there into the house next to him.
At one point we had a meeting and decided to go over the fence to clear the bush.
“On Sunday we came there with the owner of the house at his side and paid some workers to clear the bush.
When they exited the front of his building within the compound and could see the house clearly, they saw that the window was open.
They peeked in and saw that the man had died a long time ago, with only his skeleton on his bed.
“I immediately called the division police, Apete Division. When we got to the entrance to his apartment, we found that it was locked from the inside.
We broke it open and saw his skeleton on his bed with his three phones. One was on his left hand, one was on the back of his head and plugged into the outlet, and the third was on his right side.
The police tried to get his contacts so we could reach his family but the phone lines had gone dead.
We found a phone number on one of his IDs and I called them, but the person calling and his companions just laughed.
Apparently they found our research strange. We have a feeling the number was given to someone else.
“We could not locate any member of his family. We also tried to get the necessary information from those who worked for him as bricklayers, welders and mechanics, but they told us that Mr. Abiola is not the type to give his family details to anyone.
He used to be alone. We learned that he and his wife had a disagreement in Port Harcourt and were separating.
So he decided to move into the house he had built in Adeosun without letting anyone know where he was.”
Omilana said the skeleton wasn’t removed because the community didn’t want to risk anything.
