The skeletal remains of a landlord identified as John Aderemi Abiola, have been discovered in his bedroom almost four years after he was last seen.
The discovery was made on Sunday, September 4 by residents of Adeosun/Idi Orogbo Community in Ido Local Government Area of Oyo State where the house was located.
Report says the community decided, with the approval of the police authorities, to go into his compound to clear the bush which had overgrown his fence into the next house, causing invasion by reptiles.
The man was last seen in December 2018, a year after he moved into the compound.
However, as 2019 crept into 2020, the residents started wondering where the man could be and called his phone lines but they were not reachable.
It was gathered that he told about two of those he used to communicate with of his intention to go to Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and be back for Ileya ceremony in 2018.
However, when they did not see him for the festivity, they concluded that he decided to stay back where he initially came from.
After it was noticed that the weeds in his compound had grown the community landlords decided in a meeting to find a means of getting access into the premises to clear the bush.
However, they were said to have jettisoned the idea because of the implication in the law. From then to 2021, till 2022, the residents of the community who did not know his whereabouts decided again to go and clear the bush.
It was learnt the move was made again when the owner of the piece of land beside Mr Abiola’s house moved in about two years ago after completion of the construction.
But the invasion of his residence by snakes crawling in from the next compound got him worried about the safety of his family members.
This was said to have made the community to approach Apete police station again, where they were given the nod to do the necessary.
So, on Sunday, the community decided to hire labourers to clear the bush. The house was constructed on the backside of the piece of land while the front side had a thick bush that could not be accessed.
When the labourers got there with some landlords and started the work, they first noticed Mr Abiola’s Volkswagen Golf car with registration number AKD 769 DC which had been covered by the bush before the clearing.
As the building came in view, it was noticed that the window of Mr Abiola’s room was open, which prompted curiosity.
One of the landlords, Mr Mohammed Ademola, who also worked for and used to interact with Mr Abiola, decided to check what was in the room.
He was however shocked when he saw the skeleton on the bed of the house owner. Mr Ademola raised the alarm which made others to race to the window.
They were all shocked and the news quickly spread. It was learnt that the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Apete, SP Grace Akinsehinwa, was promptly informed, which made her to send detectives to the scene for investigation and action.
On Wednesday, while Nigerian Tribune was at the scene to investigate the incident, police detectives, as well as officials of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the Ministry of Environment arrived, probably with a plan to evacuate the remains.
However, it has been difficult getting the contacts of deceased’s family members as they were unknown to the community members.
It was then decided that more efforts should be made to trace his family members before the evacuation so that they would not feel left out.
A bottle of Astymin, packets of Bicarbonate of soda, vitamin C, Coartem (an antimalaria) and herbal tea covered with dust were found in his room.
It was evident from his skull and exposed teeth that he was gaptoothed in front. Also, his boxers could still be seen around his waist while the top he must have worn had been eaten by his rotten flesh. Only a tiny piece remained by his side.
Also found with his phones was his laptop. His plasma TV was still hanging on the wall and his wardrobe still had his clothing and other items.
Mr Abiola, whose date of birth was discovered to be October 1, 1955, reportedly moved into the house in July 2017, but was not in close relationship with other residents except formal greetings whenever their paths crossed.
Known as an engineer who was based in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, with his family before moving to Ibadan, he was said to have lived in a couple of areas within the city before constructing the house in Adeosun Community.
He was also known for his frequent travels to Port Harcourt to do his engineering work whenever the need arose.
The central chairman of Adeosun/Idi Orogbo Landlords’ Association, Mr Oluwafemi Omilana, who spoke with newsmen said that late Mr Abiola always paid his dues.
“But we noticed that he didn’t associate with others and he came to landlords’ meeting just once. His house has a high fence and was constructed at the back with big space in front to the gate.
“We started noticing his absence in the community, although he didn’t mostly stay at home. He used to travel to Port Harcourt in Rivers State. He was an engineer. His compound had become so bushy that snakes were just being seen crawling from there into the house beside him. At a 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 beside him, paid some labourers to clear the bush. When they cleared the front of his building within the compound and could see the house clearly, they saw that the window was open. They peeped in and saw that the man had died a long time ago, with only his skeleton on his bed.
“Immediately, I called the Divisional Police, Apete Division. When we got to the entrance to his apartment, we discovered that it was locked from the inside.
” We forced it open and saw his skeleton on his bed, with his three phones.
” One was by his left hand, one was at the back of his head and connected to the wall socket and the third one by his right side.
“The police have tried to source for his contacts so that we can reach his family but the phone lines had become invalid.
“There was a phone number we found on one of his identity cards and I called it, but the person called and those with him were just laughing.
” It seemed they found the enquiries we were making strange. We have the feeling that the number has been re-allocated to another person.
“We have not been able to trace any member of his family. We also made efforts to get needed information from those who worked for him as bricklayer, welder, mechanic, but they told us that Mr Abiola was not the type to disclose his family information to anyone.
“He used to be alone. We learnt that he and his wife had a disagreement in Port Harcourt and separated.
” That was why he decided to move into the house he built at Adeosun without letting anyone know where he was.”
Mr Omilana said that the skeleton had not been removed because the community does not want to risk anything.
“The environmental officials were with us but they said that we should do it but get approval from the environment authorities.
” Now, we want to try and trace the family as much as we can. Mr Abiola had once told one of those who worked with him that his mother was living at Agugu.
” We want to go there and trace the area to get his family. If that is not successful, we will get the approval from the Ministry of Environment and do the necessary,” he further said.
The secretary of the landlords’ association, Pastor Olusola Bobade, in his contribution said that the deceased moved to his house in July 2017.
“He was coming from Port Harcourt then to construct the building. We initially exempted him from paying development fee but he started paying in January 2018 and was consistent.
” In October same year, he paid in advance for the rest of the year. The way I perceived him was that he was quiet and didn’t like to relate.
“He paid all community dues but used not to attend meetings.
“When we didn’t see him, we were calling his line but it was not going through,” the secretary stated.
