Up until her death, Olusayo was a youth corps member serving in Zamfara State.
It was learnt that Olusayo was found dead in her home on Lane One, Ajegunle Street, Ile-Ife, Osun State in the early hours of Wednesday, November 11, 2015. But what happened?
A family member told PUNCH that the deceased’s body was found inside the apartment she shared with her husband, foaming in the mouth and nostrils.
But her family said the police must get to the root of the matter because her husband, Niyi, whom she slept in the same apartment with on Tuesday night, was nowhere to be found by the time neighbours forced the door open and found her body.
Olusayo’s uncle, Rev. Gbenga Gbadebo, explained that the neighbours forcibly opened the door because they said it was unusual for the couple’s apartment to remain locked when everybody was awake and going about their businesses of the day.
“The neighbours said since Olusayo and Niyi did not indicate they were travelling the night before, they decided to knock on the door of their flat but when they got no answer, they forced the door open only to find her body sprawled on the floor in the apartment,” Rev. Gbadebo said.
According to the couple’s neighbours, they became curious when they could not find the husband and while they searched for Niyi, they called his line which was initially switched off.
Neighbours said they were alarmed when they eventually got through to him and he said he was in Ghana. The neighbours later notified the deceased’s family who in turn kept trying to call Niyi.
“He kept giving different locations. Sometimes, he would say he was in Togo and sometimes Ghana or Ondo,” Rev. Gbadebo said.
The couple got married in April and in October, Olusayo proceeded for her national youth service. But the deceased had only been back home a couple of days when she met her death.
According to the deceased’s family, Niyi occasionally had disagreements with his late wife over financial issues as his business was reportedly not doing well. He trades in mattresses.
Olusayo’s family said she frequently complained that her husband was not living up to his responsibilities in the home, especially finances.
However, more than 24 hours after Olusayo’s death and after series of calls to Niyi, an uncle of his, a priest, who stood as the father figure during their wedding, prevailed on him to return and he finally made an appearance at the Moore Police Division where the case was reported.
PUNCH spoke with the father of the deceased, who in an emotion-laden voice gave an account of how his daughter’s marriage was short and very rocky.
According to him, few months after his daughter’s wedding, the husband started to misbehave.
He said, “In August, they had a fight and I had to call them to a meeting along with the family of the husband. I warned them that I must not hear of any fight between them again.
“In October, my daughter travelled to Zamfara State for her NYSC. She came back on Saturday, November 7. She came first to our house. She left for her husband’s house on Tuesday. There was no communication between us for a few days.
“But on Tuesday, November 10, she called for financial assistance and I promised her that I would send the money the following day. That was the last time I heard from my daughter.
“Some of her neighbours called my wife about the terrible news and she informed me. I was in serious shock. I had to watch myself because I am hypertensive.
“The man had been misbehaving all along. He would sometimes abandon the house and leave my daughter uncared for, for days at a time...”
“The next thing I heard after all these was her death. How do you expect us to take that?” he said.
The neighbours who found Olusayo’s body said she was found on the floor of their sitting room.
An autopsy was conducted on the deceased at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife, but the result has not been released.
The body of the deceased was about to be buried last Saturday, November 14, but an argument between the Gbadebos (family of the deceased) and the Olukuyides (family of the husband) degenerated to the extent that the corpse had to be returned to the mortuary.
The priests who were to officiate the interment later went home after waiting endlessly.
The deceased’s family alleged the Olukuyides were treating Olusayo’s death with levity while the husband’s family insisted Niyi had no hand in her death.
When our correspondent contacted Niyi, a brother of his, Olayinka, who picked the call, said:
“My brother travelled the day his wife died and there is no way the mother of Olusayo can deny that. When they informed him about her death, he only expressed shock and said what if he had travelled to a far place like Ghana? He did not actually say he was in Ghana.
“He had the intention of going to Ghana initially but financial challenges had been delaying him. We have visited the house where his wife died with the policemen investigating her death and some of the neighbours attested to the fact that Olusayo was always sick.
“The deceased always complained of headache, which they said sometimes disoriented her. The truth is, my brother did not spend enough time with her during their courtship. Her family rarely allowed them to see each other, which was why he did not know about her health challenges.
“My brother kept asking about the result of the medical test they were mandated to do by the church before their wedding. He kept asking but they did not show him.”
The husband, Niyi, had been transferred to the State Police CID for further investigation.
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