Two artistes found dead inside Lagos studio; others hospitalised

Olaleye Aluko

There was apprehension last Thursday at the Awolusi Bus stop in the Alagbado area of Lagos State after residents found two artistes dead inside a studio in the area.

The musicians identified as Ajibawo Lawal and Sunday Akhigbe, were discovered dead around 7am, having reportedly performed all night in the studio.

A police source told our correspondent on Saturday that the residents also brought out a generator and some hard drugs from the studio, fuelling speculations that they might have died from fumes or effects of hard drugs.

Policemen from the Alagbado division recovered the two corpses.

A resident, Mahfuz Majeed, said apart from the two deceased, two other artists including the studio manager were found lying unconscious and rushed to the hospital.

He said, “Nobody came out from the studio while a generator was left working. So, neighbours became suspicious and broke into the building through the window. Apart from the dead artistes, they met two others in a terrible condition. We had to rush them to a private hospital. The police have taken over the case and we don’t know the state of the men in the hospital.”

A police report obtained from the station confirmed the incident, noting that the studio manager, identified as Muritala Azeez, who was stabilised in the hospital, was interrogated by the police.

The report said, “We received a distress call from an anonymous caller that a crowd was seen converging on a studio at Alagbado where rumour had it that some persons died inside.

“Upon receipt of the information, police operatives went to the scene, which is Coded Music Recording Studio at Awolusi bus stop. Two artistes, Ajibawo Lawal, 37, and Sunday Akhigbe, 12, were met inside the studio dead.

“One Mr Bamidele Olajide, neighbour of the same address had earlier met Dare Obadina and Azeez in a critical condition. A search was conducted inside the studio and the generator, condoms, bread and food that the deceased vomited, and substances suspected to be hard drugs, including Indian hemp were found in the studio.

“Meanwhile, one Muritala Azeez, the owner of the studio, who is already in custody, admitted to having hired and kept them there and identified them as artistes who produce music for him. He further stated that he was with them physically on the previous night and later the phone with them until 2am of September 3.”

The police report noted that the relatives of the deceased had been contacted and the case transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Panti, Yaba, for further investigation.

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Muyiwa Adejobi, confirmed the incident, noting that investigations were ongoing.

He said, “Two were found dead while another two were unconscious and rushed to the hospital including the manager of the studio. Preliminary investigation showed there was a generator working. Maybe the fumes of the generator caused the problem, but we won’t just say that because we need medical expertise to reveal it. There is no suspect for now because even the owner of the studio was also unconscious.”

Punch