Guard’s death in hotel diesel tank sparks protest in Jabi

Angry residents vandalised property belonging to Alexis Hotel, Jabi after the corpse of a security guard was found in a diesel tank within the hotel premises yesterday. Two jerry cans were also found inside the tank after it was cut open to evacuate the corpse of the guard simply identified as Muhammad.  Some residents besieged […]

Angry residents vandalised property belonging to Alexis Hotel, Jabi after the corpse of a security guard was found in a diesel tank within the hotel premises yesterday.

Two jerry cans were also found inside the tank after it was cut open to evacuate the corpse of the guard simply identified as Muhammad. 

Some residents besieged the hotel located at Obafemi Awolowo Way, Jabi Upstairs, scaled the fence and the gate while others threw stones at the building accusing the hotel management of being complicit in the guard’s death. 

A resident, Bashir Abubakar, who described the deceased as his brother, alleged that the hotel management killed the security guard who had been with them for over six years and dumped the corpse in the tank. 

But the general manager of the hotel, Emmanuel Fadipe, denied the allegation. He said, “The boy is not my staff, and he worked with a security firm contracted to Globacom to secure their facilities inside our premises.” 

“Someone came asking after the deceased at about 1am but the security guards attached to the hotel did not allow him in. When he insisted that he has business with the deceased, a guard went to call him but could not find him.

“They checked everywhere, along the line they now discovered that the diesel tank was opened, which was usually always locked but they did not suspect anything. When they could not find him after searching the premises, they climbed the diesel tank, and looked inside only to find two jerry cans and his hand. That was how he met his death,” he said.

Fadipe said when the news of the death got to Jabi Masallaci, the residents stormed the hotel and damaged the property. 

The Life Camp Divisional Police Officer, Danlami Yusuf, who was seen at the scene of the incident said investigation was ongoing, adding that the intervention of the police stopped the residents from further vandalising property. 

“The deceased was not attached to the hotel but worked with a security company employed by the telecommunication company to guard its mast,” he said. 

“The people from a neighbouring community mobilised themselves and you know this spontaneous reaction without knowing what was happening. They threw stones at the hotel,” he said, adding that the corpse had been taken to hospital and normalcy restored at the premises.