Joy Anyim
Two brothers were, on Tuesday morning, found dead in a shop, at No. 46, Olatunji Road, Ojota, Lagos State.
The brothers, Emmanuel John, 21 and Paul John, 22, sell beverages and other items in the shop.
The Nigerian Xpress gathered that the deceased, who slept in their shop, died from suffocation from generator fumes.
According to reports, they had just bought a new generator to facilitate their business. The generator set was also supplying power to the entire building housing the shop.
However, on Monday night, due to power outage, the brothers had reportedly turned on the generator and put it inside their shop, while they went to bed.
Their dead bodies were discovered the next day after a neighbour who noticed the boys who open for business as early as 6:00a.m, had not opened by 6:30a.m.
The said neighbor, who did not want his name mentioned, called their phone lines, but there was no response.
Concerned that something might have gone wrong, the neighbour alerted others.
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The neighbours waited for another 30 minutes and when the boys did not open the shop, the neighbours broke into the shop and found the brothers laying flat on the ground with white substances on their mouth and head.
The Ojodu Police Station was immediately alerted. On-the-spot investigation by a team of policemen drafted to the scene, revealed the deceased persons got choked with carbon-monoxide.
Not satisfied with this speculation of being choked, neighbours called on the police to carry out an intensive investigation into the death as they said there might be more to the death.
The remains of the brothers had been deposited at the morgue, while the police said investigation was ongoing.
Lagos Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Elkana Bala, confirmed the incident saying, “On May 21, 2019, at about 7:30am, the Ojodu Police Station received an information that on the date, at about 6:30am, one Emmanuel John, 21, and John Paul, 22, were found dead as a result of generator flame they inhaled while asleep.
“It was gathered that the duo put on a generator & locked themselves inside the shop.”