A Man’s Skeleton was found in his room four years After he was last seen in Ibadan
Mr John Aderemi Abiola’s skeleton was found in his room in Adeosun/Idi Orogbo Community in Ido Local Government Area of Oyo State, almost four years after he was last seen.
A development which thrown landlords and residents in shock, on Sunday.
According to the Nigerian Tribune, the discovery was made after the community decided, with the approval of the police authorities, to go into his compound to clear the bush in his compound which had overgrown his fence into the next house, causing invasion by reptiles.
As 2019 crept into 2020, the residents started wondering where the man could be. Though 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, not seeing him for the festivity and thereafter made them to think he was staying back where he initially came from.
Calls to his phone lines were not going through other. After it was noticed that the weeds in his compound had grown bushy, the community landlords were said to have decided in a meeting to find a means of getting access to 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 is getting to the end, the residents of the community who did not know his whereabouts decided again to go and clear the bush.
It was learnt that 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.
As 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.
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 in his room were seen.
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 h.
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.
Continued from the TRIBUNE
Mr Ademola also confirmed that the deceased was not known with any of his family members.
“The little I got from him was because I was doing some jobs for him. He told me his village was at Lalupon area and his mother was in Agugu where he used to go to give her money every month. He was an Ibadan indigene. He also told me his family has a farm but he refused to be active in it so that he would not be seen as wanting to get something from it. He was just telling me that we would know his people very soon. I never thought that we would likely know his family this way.
“He told me two of his children are in the United States of America. He once called one of the children, a female, in my presence and they spoke for a long time while I kept working. So he had people but we don’t know them. He told me he had a storey building with four flats in Port Harcourt where his wife was staying.
“He also told me he had high bloo d pressure and used to taking his medication. Even while working, he would leave where dust was raised or smoke was coming, saying that at his age, he would not like to breathe such in as his health could not sustained such. So, he used to take care of his health.” Mr Kazeem Raji, another man that had interaction with the late engineer when he was alive, burst into tears when he was about to speak.
After gaining composure, he said: “I used to address the deceased as Brother Biola. I knew him over 20 years ago. I helped him when he was constructing his house at Adeosun. I knew him through the master that I did apprenticeship with. He and his friend then, whom I addressed as Brother Bunmi, used to go to Cotonou, Republic of Benin together. At a time, we didn’t see him again. I saw him again about 15 years after. Even, I was the one who helped him to purchase his Golf car.
“He used to travel a lot and would sometimes drop one of his phones, at home. The last time he travelled and didn’t see him, I thought he was still away. He had obtained visa to travel to the USA and he informed me about It, so I thought he had travelled out of Nigeria. That was my belief until this shocking discovery.”
He said his wife is an Igbo by tribe but that they had separated; it is difficult to trace his family.
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