Rita Enemuru, Reporting
THREE young ladies have been found dead inside a locked flat in Jeddo, Okpe Local Government Area of Delta State, in circumstances that have left residents of the New City Layout neighbourhood shaken and searching for answers.
The bodies were discovered on Friday, 16 October, after the mother of one of the deceased — a hair vendor known locally as “Beauty Goddess” — broke down the door of the apartment following days of unanswered telephone calls. The victims, two aged 20 and the third 22, were reportedly already decomposing when they were found.
According to residents, the flat was locked from the inside, ruling out the possibility of an intruder. The police have offered a preliminary explanation, suggesting that fumes from a generator positioned directly facing the apartment may have killed the women.
“They died of suspected fumes from a generator because the generator was facing them directly,” said Bright Edafe, a Superintendent of Police and spokesman for the Delta State Police Command.
He confirmed that the incident came to the notice of the police on 16 October, with the bodies evacuated the same day. Mr Edafe declined to disclose the names of the deceased, citing their right to privacy, and said the decision to conduct an autopsy would rest with the families.
However, conflicting accounts have deepened the mystery surrounding the women’s final hours. Residents reported finding malt drink cans, a pack of cake, and substances identified locally as “colos” and “SK” inside the room. One of the women appeared to have struggled towards the refrigerator before dying, another was found on the bed, and the third lay close to a wall.
A local fried meat seller described the scene as overwhelming, saying the stench was strong and the bodies had begun to decay. She added that the community conducted a traditional cleansing on the Friday after the discovery, and the bodies were evacuated around 5am on Saturday.
One resident, who gave his name as Titus, said the two visiting friends had returned from an outing on the Wednesday and appeared to be enjoying themselves before the tragedy. He cast doubt on speculation that drugs were to blame, arguing that it was implausible for all three to have died at roughly the same time from an overdose.
“Three of them died at once, so it is not possible it was drugs,” he said. “It may be something else, maybe they were used for rituals? It is like a mystery.”
He said Precious had moved into the compound only about two months earlier and kept a low profile, adding that the two other women were visitors rather than permanent occupants.
The landlord declined to comment when approached, directing enquiries to the Orerokpe Police Station, where the matter is being handled.
Questions remain over the exact cause and time of death, with no toxicology results or medical findings made public. For the families of the three women, the search for answers has only just begun.
Stonix News will continue to follow developments as the investigation proceeds.
Source: The Nation
