Police are investigating the suspicious d3ath of a 38-year-old man whose body was found dumped along a roadside early Friday morning after he reportedly died in a hotel room he had checked into with a married woman.
The body of the victim, identified by authorities as David Okoro, a salesman from the city outskirts, was discovered around 5:30 a.m. by a motorist on the service road near the industrial stretch of the highway, about 12 kilometers from the hotel.
Responding officers said the corpse showed no immediate signs of violence such as stab or gunshot wounds, but the circumstances of its disposal have led detectives to treat the case as a possible homicide or concealment of d3ath.
According to hotel records and staff statements obtained by investigators, Okoro checked into Room 214 at the Midtown Lodge shortly after 9 p.m. Thursday under his own name. He was accompanied by a woman later identified as 34-year-old Grace Adeyemi, who is married and lives with her husband and two children in a residential estate across town.
The pair requested a double room and paid in cash for one night. Hotel CCTV captured them entering the elevator together; neither was seen leaving through the main lobby.
Staff became concerned when the room’s “Do Not Disturb” sign remained in place past checkout time. A housekeeper who forced entry around 11 a.m. Friday found the room empty of occupants but in disarray—bedsheets stained, an empty bottle of spirits on the table, and personal items left behind. There was no body in the room at that point.
Police sources say Adeyemi was located later Friday afternoon at her home. She initially told officers she and Okoro had argued after drinking, that he had collapsed, and that she had panicked and left. She denied moving the body. Detectives noted inconsistencies in her account and are examining phone records, hotel key-card data, and additional surveillance footage from nearby streets and petrol stations.
A preliminary post-mortem examination is scheduled for Saturday. Pathologists will determine the exact cause of death—whether natural causes such as a heart attack or stroke, alcohol-related, or something more deliberate. Officers are also looking into whether a third party was involved in transporting the body from the hotel to the roadside dump site.
Adeyemi’s husband, who works night shifts as a security supervisor, told police he believed his wife was visiting a sick relative that evening. He has been cooperating with investigators and has not been named a suspect. Family members of the deceased described Okoro as a quiet man who had recently separated from his own partner.
Detectives from the state criminal investigation department have taken over the case. They are appealing for anyone who saw a vehicle near the Midtown Lodge late Thursday night or early Friday morning, or who noticed activity along the service road, to come forward.
The hotel management has expressed shock and said they are fully assisting the police. “We take the safety of our guests seriously and are cooperating completely,” a spokesperson said.
No arrests have been made. Police said further updates will be issued once the autopsy results and forensic examinations are complete.
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