Man’s decomposing body found two weeks after

He lived alone while his wife and four children stayed abroad

It was all gloom yesterday at No. 2, Bariyu Street, Isolo, Lagos State as neighbours awoke to the shock discovery of a decomposing body of Mr. Wale Koleoso. The deceased, aged 65, was presumed to have died nearly two weeks ago, about the time he was last seen in public.

Everyone who passed in front of the green one storey building had to tightly cover his or her nose to prevent inhaling the strong odour oozing out of the building. Koleoso had lived alone in the ground flat of the building, while his wife and four children live in London, United Kingdom.

His absence though was noticed, his death was, however, not discovered until 14 days later, because he lived alone and was not the type that was sociable with neighbours.

It was not until a nauseating smell began to ooze out of the flat that neighbours broke into the apartment and to their utter shock, met the already decomposed body that had degenerated into tiny pieces.

According to neighbours, Koleoso had in his lifetime distanced himself from many people with his unfriendly attitude. He was described as a man who loved to go about and make himself merry, but his intolerance and impatient attitude towards people around him made him not to have many friends.

Some of the deceased’s neighbours claimed that he was noticeably ill shortly before he was last seen in public. According to a young woman, who pleaded anonymity, Koleoso sometimes looked ludicrous and she would wonder why a man of his age was behaving that way.

“I noticed of recent, about two weeks ago, how he was carrying his frail body. He appeared very lean and was almost staggering. I saw how he was walking after packing his car and I knew that all was not well with him,” she said.

One of his relations, Mr. Davies, who mourned the death of Koleoso, said he did not know the deceased was residing at Bariyu Street, though he was always coming to his shop to relax and unwind.

“You can see the result of being lonely. It is not good for anyone to be living alone at all. Probably, he would have been alive today if he got somebody to assist him before the problem that killed him took his life, but it is unfortunate,” he said.

Another person, who claimed to be his friend, said it was not easy to relate with him closely. He was not the type that accommodated people. However, another close friend, Akinola Alabi, said many people hold that opinion of the deceased because they did not really know Koleoso.

According to Alabi, “I was very close to him and though he might have exhibited some strange characters, he was a very kind man. If you do not have money and you approach him in a cordial manner, he was ready to give you as much as you wanted, provided it was within his ability.

“If he had N1,000 and you go to him with reasonable request, he was ready to part with N800 and keep N200 to himself. He usually said people should never go hungry because“ hunger is a bad thing’. He was that kind of person. He might have behaved irrationally at times, but when you corrected him, he would adjust himself.”

After waiting endlessly for any member of the deceased’s family to come forward, officials of the State Environmental Health Monitoring Unit (SEHMU), who were at the premises with an ambulance evacuated the decomposed body.