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| Jaiyesinmi’s apartment | credits: Samson Folarin |
The police in Lagos are battling to unravel the killers of a former
director of the Lagos State Government, Mrs. Oluremi Jaiyesimi. The
63-year-old was found dead in her house in the Abraham Adesanya Estate,
Ajah area of the state.
PUNCH Metro
exclusively gathered from sources that the corpse of the former
Director of Social Welfare in the Ministry of Youths and Social
Development was not discovered until a week after she died. By then, her
body was said to have been decomposing with maggots emanating from the
corpse.
A neighbour, who was suspicious that something was amiss after the
former director was not seen for days, alerted a relation in the
Surulere area of the state. The relation reportedly called a friend of
the
deceased living nearby, who visited the house.
A police source said:
“The friend accessed the house with his personal key and when he entered
the compound, he perceived a foul smell. He also saw trays of onions
and melon spread out to dry in the sun. They were already germinating,
meaning they had been abandoned for a long time. The man decided to
report back to the relative that he would not enter the flat because he
could sense something was wrong.”
It was learnt that the friend, identified simply as doctor, reported the
matter at the Ogombo Police Station. The relation and some other
anxious family members in company with police officers, were said to
have forced the door of the house open, only to see the corpse on the
floor.
When PUNCH visited the estate on Tuesday, he spoke with residents who said Jaiyesimi might have been murdered.
A resident, Kikelomo Banjoko, said:
“A week to the incident, she came to buy sachet water from me and even
spent more than one hour with me. She watched as I made pap and
commended me for my hard work. The next day, which was a Wednesday, she
introduced me to another woman in the neighbourhood, telling her that I
was a hardworking woman.
It was the Monday of the following week that I saw some people
fumigating her house. Later, somebody told me she was dead. I was
shocked.”
Another resident, who pleaded anonymity, said the former director was
killed by somebody close to her. He added that the 63-year-old was
“always security conscious”.
He said:
“Once it’s late, no matter who you are, she will never open her door to
you. She was very suspicious of people. She never had many friends. I am
sure she couldn’t have slumped and died because she was very agile and
healthy. The person who killed her must be a close friend or relative.
To remove all traces, they took her phones, her generator and even her
jeep was driven away.”
PUNCH Metro learnt the killers also tampered with the Closed Circuit
Television camera in the house, although they left her jewellery tucked
under her pillow. Findings also showed that Jaiyesimi had travelled to
the United States, where she was living with her children after she
retired from the Lagos State Civil Service four years ago. She came back
to Nigeria with her kids after her husband, with whom she had
separated, died.
While the children travelled back after the burial, she decided to stay
in her residence. She lived alone in the house, but usually called for
the service of house helps and artisans on the telephone whenever she
needed them.
She was said to have been killed between October 21, the last time she
spoke with her children, and October 29, the day her corpse was found.
The Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Youth and Social
Development, Dr. Dolapo Badru, condemned the murder of Jaiyesimi, who he
described as a passionate woman who cared for children.
In a telephone interview with PUNCH, he said:
“When I heard about the incident, I was shocked. This was a woman who
used all her life to serve humanity. She was especially passionate about
vulnerable children. Such people shouldn’t die like that. Those who
perpetrated this heinous crime must be caught and made to face the
music.”
A police source confided that the cause of death of the woman had yet to be established.
“Even the autopsy did not reveal anything,” he added.
The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Kenneth Nwosu, confirmed the
incident. Adding that the police had begun investigations. The police
spokesperson said the matter had been transferred to the State Criminal
Investigations Department, Yaba.
