The discovery of the lifeless bodies of a businessman, Lawrence Olorungbon, his pregnant wife, and three children in their one-bedroom self-contained apartment has thrown residents of Kofo Abayomi Avenue, in Apapa, Lagos State, into confusion.
The tragic incident occurred only two days after the family moved into the apartment, and is believed to have been caused by fumes from their power generator.
Last Wednesday, the late businessman’s secretary, Njoku Treasure, was unable to reach her boss on his mobile phone, according to reports.
After failing to contact him the next day, she went to his Apapa home, only to find the front door locked and keyed.
She claimed there was an offensive odour in the air, as well as flies buzzing around. She immediately alerted police officers from the Apapa Division, who arrived on the scene and forced open the front door, only to find the bodies in a state of decomposition.
When I went to visit the neighbourhood yesterday, the supermarket in front of the building was still locked.
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Because she was a new tenant, some of the neighbours only knew her as Iya Israel.
They speculated that the incident occurred on Tuesday of last week, noting that the family was last seen the day before.
Neighbors talk
“All the tenants in the building moved in not quite long because the building was renovated,” said Blessing, a resident. Mr Lawrence and his family arrived at the compound on Sunday, May 22, 2022, after being served with a quit notice at their previous address in Apapa’s Liverpool neighbourhood.
Because that was the last time they were seen, the unfortunate incident happened on Tuesday, May 24, 2022. But no one knew what had happened until the lady who worked at their POS shop in Liverpool came calling on Thursday. She stated that she had come for money. It had been a hasty death; the entire family had been wiped out.”
“That Thursday, I went to their compound to make hair for one of the sales girls, Kuffravis, who works at the supermarket,” another resident, Iya Didi, who plaits hair, said. I noticed the entire place smelled while I was there. When I inquired about the odour, they said they had no idea. And there were flies everywhere; I had no idea one of the new tenants had died.”
“The last time I saw them was on Tuesday,” another female tenant in the same building said. Because the pumping machine was broken, I saw the man fetching water that night.
“We didn’t see any of them on Wednesday.” We didn’t suspect anything because they had only recently moved in. His car was parked inside the compound, and their break-in was hidden from view from the outside.
“On Wednesday, the owner of the supermarket downstairs complained that a parked vehicle was obstructing customers’ access to his store. I dialled his number, which was ringing, but no one answered. When the entire place began to stink, we suspected something was fishing.”
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When the Olorungbon’s door was forced open, the pregnant woman was discovered naked near the door, apparently trying to crawl outside to cry for help before dying.
The man’s body was discovered lying down on the bed, with his two-year-old child on his chest, and the bodies of the other two children were discovered on the bed.
It was also revealed that the late businessman had an altercation with a commercial motorcyclist on Tuesday evening. The latter was said to have collided with the former’s parked car outside the building.
The deceased is said to have demanded N10,000 from the motorcyclist in order to repair the damage to his car. According to eyewitnesses, the okada rider handed him the money angrily while cursing under his breath.
