(Nigeria Police. Photo Credit; Premuim Times)
The Bayelsa State Police Command has launched an investigation into the d£ath of a 40-year-old mobile phone repairer, identified simply as Felix, whose body was discovered in a guest house in Yenagoa, the state capital.
It was gathered that the deceased, said to be from Cross River State, checked into Diko Guest House along Azikoro Road in the Ekeki area of Yenagoa with an unidentified woman on Wednesday night.
His unclothed body was found in the room on Thursday morning after a cleaner reportedly raised the alarm.
The woman was no longer in the room by the time the body was discovered.
The incident drew traders and residents to the nearby Seriake Dickson Shopping Complex, where Felix operated a mobile phone repair shop.
Eyewitnesses told our correspondent that sachets of alcoholic drinks were found on a bedside table in the room before police officers arrived to evacuate the body.
A trader at the shopping complex, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “We were shocked when we heard that Felix had died in the hotel.
He left with a woman, but only his body was found in the room the following morning.”
It was learnt that police took the owner of the guest house, as well as the cleaner who discovered the body, into custody to assist with the investigation.
The deceased’s younger brother, Dennis, was also briefly detained after he was found in possession of Felix’s mobile phone, but he was later released after explaining that a Pay Charge operator had handed him the phone once Felix’s whereabouts became uncertain.
Confirming the incident, the spokesperson for the Bayelsa State Police Command, DSP Musa Mohammed, said preliminary investigations had begun.
“We have commenced a preliminary investigation into the incident,” he said, adding that investigators were working to determine the cause of d£ath and identify the woman who reportedly checked into the guest house with the deceased prior to the incident.
The police are yet to establish the cause of d£ath, and no official findings, including the outcome of an autopsy, have been released. Investigations remain ongoing.