MAN SLUMPS, DIES ON WAY TO FRIEND’S HOUSE

A man said to be in his 70s has been found dead around the Pen Cinema roundabout in the Agege area of Lagos. Oriyomi Simon, had left his home in the Agbado area of the state at about 9am on Thursday to visit a friend in Agege before he slumped at the spot– a few steps away from the Pen Cinema Police Division.

Our correspondent, who was at the scene of the incident around 2pm, approached a policewoman and a KAI official for information about the incident. They directed him to the station for enquiry.

When asked for how long the corpse had been on the roadside, officials at the counter said they were just hearing of the incident from our correspondent.

An eyewitness, Tope Alaba, who works around the Pen Cinema, said that Simon might have survived if traffic officials in the area had come to his rescue on time.

He said “He was still alive at about 12 noon when I passed the road to buy food. Policemen, LASTMA officials and some KAI officials were there. None of them seemed to be bothered about him. I feared I might be implicated if I attempted to help him. One has to be very careful.”

Another eyewitness, who declined to give his name, said Simon could be ill and might have consumed his drugs in overdose, losing consciousness in the aftermath.

The inscriptions on the bottle of the drug that was found with him read in part, “Calcium 500mg. Take one tablet to two three times daily, preferably with meals. Do not exceed stated dosage. Each tablet contains 500g.”

However, a police officer, who identified himself as a crime officer from the division, later walked to the deceased who was holding a handkerchief; searched his pockets and found a mobile phone and some money.

Through the contacts in Simon’s phone, the officer got across to his wife and friend, who arrived at the scene about 30 minutes later.

The wife, Florence, broke into tears on sighting her husband, saying she had become worried since 11.30am when his line indicated not reachable.

“He left home around 9am to visit a friend around Agege and promised not to stay long. I don’t know the person. I advised him not to go because he was just recovering from an illness, but he refused,” she said.

Simon’s friend, a resident of Agbado, told our correspondent that he was shocked about his friend’s death and could not make any comment. He, however, said the deceased had checked on him at about 9.30am. The corpse has being taken to a mortuary.

The Lagos Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Kenneth Nwosu, confirmed the incident.

culled from 'Punch'