The late Ede lying face down with face mask in bed
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Solomon Ede was a habitual face mask wearer who prioritizes his protection against the deadly coronavirus also called Covid-19. Although he used to remove the mask during bedtime, he however made a mistake that sent him to his early grave.
On Friday, August 28, the 50-year-old private guard popularly known as Baba Rita reportedly slept without removing his face mask. This was a few moments after he took a local gin popularly called ogogoro.
The lifeless body of the deceased was found with his face down still wearing his face mask the next day, showing that he died of suffocation.
Sources made it known that neighbors who came to fetch water at the compound of the house where the deceased worked as a guard banged on the gate of the building ceaselessly but Ede did not come out to grant them access to the tap.
It was the endless bangs at the gate of the building that caused Ede’s boss to open the gate for the visitors and check on Ede in his room. However, the door to his room was firmly shut and later forced open only to meet the unfortunate sight.
The boss was said to have raised the alarm which attracted other residents to the building, with many blaming the deceased’s tragic death on his alcoholic addiction.
Sympathizers who were around tried consoling his widow who rushed to the scene on receiving the news of her husband’s demise. The expectant wife of the deceased’s boss was so shocked and nearly passed out at the scene.
A source said:
“But for the noise from those who came to fetch water in the early hours of the day, no one would have known that a tragedy had occurred.
“It was when the deceased failed to come out of his apartment to attend to those fetching water in the premises of the house that his boss came out and discovered his body.”
The yet to be named employer of the deceased reported the situation to a police division at Kemta, Idi Aba.
It was also revealed that the deceased was recently persuaded by his boss to open an account in a bank for the purpose of receiving his salary due to his alcohol expenses.
A neighbor said:
“Earlier on the day of his unfortunate death, his employer reminded him of their previous discussion about opening a bank account so he could be paying his salary into the account without delay, especially when he is out of town.
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”He was to be paid his salary same Saturday his lifeless body was found in his room.”
The cause of his alcohol addiction was revealed to be depression and could not quit despite the cautions from the neighborhood.
“He usually removed his face mask before going to bed. But he took some ogogoro late in the evening and was downcast. Those who saw him at the entrance of his apartment asked him to remove the mask on his face and go to bed, but he refused.
”However, he went to bed forgetting to remove his face mask and slept face down. He was probably choked to death by the face mask,” said a source who spoke in confidence.
The source added:
“No one would believe that he started working as a guard in the building in March this year, because he was a likable fellow who related with everyone pleasantly. Hence, he had unhindered access to his boss’ apartment.
“He was a very easy going man, only that he could not restrain himself from indulging in the consumption of local gin which eventually led him to wear a face mask to bed, leading to his death.”
A resident identified simply as Olamilekan disclosed that the deceased had rebuffed those who pleaded with him to retire to bed when he was discovered to be drunk.
“He was sighted on Friday seated at the entrance of his apartment at the security house where he worked. He was looking downcast and was asked to go into his room but he refused. It was shocking that he died overnight.
“From the look of things and without prejudice to police investigations on the cause of his death, he was so drunk and probably forgot to remove his face mask before sleeping face down and suffocating to death.”
The body of the deceased has reportedly been conveyed to the mortuary at the State General Hospital at Ijaiye, Abeokuta by the policemen from Kemta Police Division in Idi Aba.
The spokesman of Ogun State Police Command, Abimbola Oyeyemi, and a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) assured to return to our correspondent when he was contacted on the phone.
He said:
“I haven’t heard about the incident, but I will confirm the story from the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of Kemta Division and get back to you.”