Police officers attached to the Homicide Department at Panti, Yaba, in Lagos State have discovered two decomposed corpses in an apartment in Lagos.
The decomposed corpses were found in a three-bedroom apartment at 18, Aina Road, Agiliti, Mile 12 area of the state last weekend.
The police officers, with a team of pathologists from the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, made the shocking discovery following reports from the agent in charge of the house that neighbours have not seen the occupants of the apartment since 2010.
The decomposed corpses were later identified as those of a woman known as Emma Johnson, while the other corpse was that of her 27-year-old son, Papa Johnson.
Five persons, including neighbours, have been arrested.
It was gathered that the decomposed corpse of the woman was found lying face up on a dusty sofa, with a cross in her left hand. She was easily identified as the hair on her head have not decomposed.
The son’s remains however were skeletons found at the extreme of the room close to where a stainless pot of palm oil was placed on a rusty stove.
The room also had cooking utensils, rotten tubers of yam and clothes scattered all over the floor, with dust and cobwebs all over the place.
A dusty photo album of the woman and her family was also seen on the wall adjacent to where her decomposed corpse was.
It was gathered that the team of pathologists, led by Prof. John Oladipo Fanfuwa, were shocked to their marrows at the sight of the decomposed corpses, which they, with the assistance of the police, recovered for autopsy.
It was also gathered that the deceased have occupied the three-bedroom flat in the six block of flats since 2006 with other neighbours.
The agent of the house told police officers that he saw the woman in 2010 when he came to issue her a notice to remind her that her rent was due.
The owner of the house, identified as Yemidale Kayode, is said to be outside the country.
Meanwhile, the police arrested the agent of the house and the four other occupants of the other blocks of flats to get their side of the case being presumed to be a case of murder.
One of the officers in charge of the case told The Eagle Online: “How can they say they do not know anything about these corpses? Theses are people they have not seen since 2010 and they did not bother to find out. Also, what about the offensive smell that would have emanated from the decomposed bodies? There are lot of questions that need answers and we will get to the root of the mysterious deaths.”
It was gathered that the agent of the house was the first person to see the corpses after he got a court order to forcefully evict the tenants who had not been seen in two years.