By Amidu Arije
Wednesday, 4 September, 2019, will forever remain immemorial in the minds of the people of Olowora Street, Mafoluku Oshodi, Lagos, as they woke up to the tragic and sudden death of a family of six and visitor with whom they passed the night.
Two weeks after the mysterious death, family members of the deceased and the entire area are still enveloped in grief. When The Nigerian Xpress visited, people were still talking the incident. It has remained a mystery, as the cause of death is yet unknown.
However, a family source, Mr. Akeem Zakariyah, younger brother to the late Mr. Kazeem Zakariyah said they had collected the corpses from the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) where they were taken for autopsy and buried them last Thursday.
To some of Olowora residents, the deaths of Kazeem Zakariyah, his wife, Alimat, who was pregnant and children, Aliyah, 9, Fridaous, 6, Taiwo and Kehinde, 4, and the female visitor still remain a mystery to them.
In groups, the people gathered, talking about the situation. Some said the cause of the incident is unknown to them while others suspected that it was a case of somebody spraying insecticide into the deceased’s room overnight to get rid of them.
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A lady, who simplify identified herself as Precious, told The Nigerian Xpress that she heard some people saying that the late Zakariyah was dating somebody in the same house they were living and that when their relationship got sour the man decided to quit the relationship, but the woman was adamant at making sure the relationship continued.
When all her tactics failed to yield the desired result, Precious said the woman decided to terminate the life of Zakariyah, which she id went by the spraying Zakariyah’s one-room apartment insecticide.
“I heard that the late Kazeem was dating a woman in their house and when he said he was no longer interested in the relationship the woman decided to take his life instead of leaving him to his wife and children. We heard that the woman was the one, who went in the midnight to spray their one-room apartment with insecticide that later ended up wiping out the entire family,” she said.
However, Mr. Olalekan Olayiwola, younger brother to the late Mrs. Alimat Zakariayah, told The Nigerian Xpress that all that people are saying about the possible cause of their death are just rumours, as there is no known cause of their deaths yet. He said the family had not heard any official statement from the Nigeria Police of the outcome of their investigation on the case on the cause of their deaths.
“We have not heard from the police. They are yet to give us any cause of their deaths,” he said.
On the rumoured amorous relationship with a co-tenant, who allegedly sprayed the deceased’s room with insecticide, Olayiwola said: “That is just rumour. My sister husband were easy going people. My late in-law didn’t womanise like I told you. All what people are saying are just rumours. We also heard it, including the rumour that there is a person, who has now confessed to what happened, that she was jealous of the way they used to dress and the way the children used to appear neat and their being well behaved. So, all these are rumours.”
Asked if he didn’t believe rumour because the facts have not been established, he said: “No, we have not gotten any fact but we know it is rumour because our cousins who live closer to them rushed there that day and there was nothing of such mentioned and the police too, who are on the case never told us anything like. So, all you heard are rumours,” he insisted.
Olayiwola described his late sister as a gentle woman, who didn’t fight with anyone.
“She is a gentle woman, she doesn’t fight, neither does she quarrel with anyone. Ao also is the husband. Even if you go to their street and ask from anybody, you will be told that the man is not a womaniser; he is always going on his own,” he said.
The father of Mrs. Alimat, Mr. Ganiu Olayiwola, said though pained by the death of his daughter, husband and children, the families have left everything in God’s hand and decided to move on with their lives.
“We have left everything in the hands of God. We are now moving on with our lives. That is what God brought into the family and we have to accept it that way. We will only be deceiving ourselves if we don’t. That is past tense now and we should not be talking about that one anymore. After all, they have done what we want them to do, and that is burying our dead,” he said.
Though the bereaved father said everything had been left in the hands of God, he still added those behind the death of his daughter and her entire family will one day be exposed and that God is an avenger.
“I have the faith that God will expose those behind this mysterious act. If the police like, they should carry out investigations on the matter and if they don’t, that is no problem. We have accepted our fate,” he said.
Speaking on his daughter’s character and how the family would miss her, her husband and children, a mournful Oalyiwola said his daughter was a kind-hearted person, who didn’t like trouble.
“My daughter is such a gentle type that when you are talking to her and when it gets to a point when the talk becomes tough, she would burst out crying. So, that is how gentle she is. She is easy going and kind-hearted.”
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As for his late son-inlaw, Olayiwola said: “Even the husband, I have studied him very well. He is also very easy going. He is not the trouble making type. The two of them are so quiet they don’t like trouble at all. He is always busy with his work. His life is all about his job, and he has no time for frivolities.”
Mr. Olayiwola said the families would miss the couple dearly, as they play a pivotal role in the families upkeep.
“The feeling of their absence will remain in our hearts forever. The vacuum their demise created cannot be filled by anyone. We will forever miss them. We will only try to put their thoughts aside and keep going,” he said.
Younger brother to the late Mr. Kazeem Zakariyah, cannot. Akeem Zakariyah, said he could not say in clear terms the cause of his brother’s death but the family has accepted their fate and forge ahead with their lives.
“I cannot say maybe he has offended anyone. However, what I can say is that the government has said they have done the autopsy, which they said they wanted to do. We have reclaimed our dead ones and buried them last Thursday. We have also done prayer for them for the repose of their souls,” he said.
Speaking further, Zakariyah said:
“Though as at now, we are yet to hear any information on the possible cause of their deaths, we don’t know what the government is doing on it because they have not told us anything. We have accepted our fate. Whatever the government likes, they should do. If they like, let them carry out investigation and if they don’t, let them not do anything on it. We have accepted our fate.
It is not that we could not bury our dead on that day but because the government said they wanted to carry out autopsy to determine the cause, to prevent outbreak of death in the society, that is why we allowed them to take the bodies for autopsy. Nevertheless, as at the time we collected their dead bodies, they only told us investigation is not concluded yet, they have not told us anything. The result they gave to us when they released the dead bodies just stated that not yet concluded”.
Mr. Zakariyah said the victims would not only be missed by family members only but the whole society would also miss them.
“There is no way the family will not miss him. It is not even only the family that will miss him, everybody in the community will because he was a friend of all, and also due to the nature of his job, an electrician, he was always helping people with their electricity issues in the community,” he said.
When he too was confronted with the tale of his late elder brother, having love affair with a neighbour in their house, Akeem said those were rumours because, the late deceased did not like trouble, as he wasss always going on his own.
“Whatever you heard from people are rumours. We have heard the same thing; that is why I don’t want to talk to you because people have been saying lots of wrong things about this issue. So, we don’t want to talk about it again; it is the will of God. He was a gentle man, easy going and loved by all because he used to help the people in the community to fix their light whenever they had problem with it. He was not known for flirting around with women. He didn’t have that time. He was always busy with his work,” he said.