The decomposing corpse of a tenant, Chichi Okechukwu, has been discovered by her neighbours at No. 15 Fagbile Street, Surulere, Lagos State.

PUNCH Metro gathered that before Okechukwu’s corpse was discovered, one of her yet-to-be-identified friends, who had not seen her going to work for some time, became worried about her sudden disappearance and visited her place of residence to find out her whereabouts.

According to the deceased’s neighbours, her friend’s visit was around the time a strange odour was being perceived in the house.

Although the neighbours initially concluded that the odour could be that of a rat that probably died somewhere in the compound, Okechukwu’s friend, upon approaching her apartment, also perceived the odour.

Punch further reports that some of the neighbours were said to have confirmed that the odour was oozing out of Okechukwu’s room that was bolted from the inside.

Immediately, the landlady, Abiodun Dogbajale, was informed about the observation, she contacted the police, who broke the door to Okechukwu’s apartment and discovered her corpse lying on the floor.

An eyewitness, who identified himself simply as Khalid, said the deceased’s friend, who visited the house when she could not get her, made the neighbours realise that the odour was oozing out of her apartment.

He said, “My boss and I were working in our factory in the compound when a woman in the area said one of our neighbour’s friends was around to check on her, because she observed that she had not gone to work for a while.

“The friend also said calls to her number had not been connecting. So, they went to her room to find out if she was there and perceived the odour and later discovered that it was coming from her room and that she had died.”

A tenant, Adekunle Adejumo, said he was surprised when he got to his office after delivering some jobs to his clients, but met a lot of people mourning Okechukwu’s death.

He stated that upon hearing the news, he proceeded to the police station to make an official report, adding that police personnel from the Area ‘C’ Police Division visited the scene of the incident to evacuate the corpse.

When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Bala Elkana, said Okechukwu’s landlady, Dogbajale, informed the command about the incident, adding that the corpse had been deposited in the Mainland Hospital’s morgue for investigation.