They said the deceased, Mama Ginika, had left home around 9pm on the day, telling her husband that she wanted to visit a friend in the next street, but went to meet her lover in a small hotel.
The residents revealed that the woman, in her 50s, told her husband she wanted to collect something from the said friend. Hence, they were shocked when news filtered in that she was found dead in Taola Hotel on Prince Adeyemi Street, Ikotun.
The married woman and her family live on K&S Street, Abaranje Road – not too far from the hotel.
Mama Ginika had followed a man to the hotel for “short time”. She and her secret lover stayed in the hotel around 9.30pm on Friday and paid to spend just one hour.
But workers of the hotel became apprehensive when it was 12am the next day and the lovers did not check out. One of the workers entered the room only to discover that the woman was dead while her lover had quietly escaped.
The case was reported to the police at the Ikotun division.
A neighbour of the deceased disclosed on that she had lied to her husband, identified as Mr. Henry, that she wanted to visit a friend who lived on Prince Adeyemi Street.
The neighbour, who did not want her name in print, said she was shocked when she learnt that same Mama Ginika died in the hotel.
She said,
“Around 9pm, she told her husband that she wanted to visit a friend on the street where the hotel is located. The husband and her children became confused when she did not return.
“It was the following day when news of her death was broken that the husband realised she had lied to him. She was about 50 years old. Her husband tries his best to provide for the family. She used to run a business but later stopped. She sold fish and soup ingredients before her death.”
When contacted on phone, the late woman’s husband, Mr Henry, said she would be buried later this month. He declined comments when asked where his wife told him she was going before her death.
But their daughter, who collected the phone from her father, said the family did not want to talk.
The daughter said;
“We don’t want to be discussing this matter. We have our future to protect and we don’t want the incident to destroy the image of the family. Please, don’t call this number again.”
Lagos State Police Command spokesperson, SP Dolapo Badmos, said the police were still on the trail of the late woman’s fleeing lover. Police is hopeful that the man would be tracked down.
