Ex-Lagos civil servant found dead in UK home

A Nigerian-British citizen, Prince Adeoba Adeniji-Adele, has been found dead in his home in London, United Kingdom.

He was aged 62.

The late Adeniji-Adele moved to the UK in 2024 after retiring from the Lagos State Government Public Service, where he served as the informtion officer in several government agencies.

Saturday PUNCH gathered that upon his relocation, he started working as a support officer with the Bushey Meadows Supported Living.

However, his lifeless body was discovered last Monday at his residence in Flat 6, 2A, Bruce Road, Barnet, London, after his colleagues sent a welfare check.

His childhood friend, Abayomi Ishola, in a telephone call with our correspondent on Friday, confirmed the incident.

“It was unusual of him not to return calls or respond to messages from both his wife and his office. They got concerned and sent a welfare check to his house; they sent an ambulance after finding him dead,” Ishola said.

Our correspondent gathered that the UK authorities had started an investigation into the death

Ishola said he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and got treated two months ago.

“He was able to return to work. He didn’t have any ailments. We just heard of his death on Monday.

“He lived alone in his residence but he was agile. He even sent money for his mother’s 90th birthday in Nigeria,” he added.

Adeniji-Adele started his life in the UK until 2012 when he moved to Nigeria.

He worked as an information officer with the Lagos State Office of the Public Defender, before he was posted to the Gbagada General Hospital, where he retired.

“He worked for 10 years in Lagos and returned to the UK two years ago. But while in Nigeria, he had four children: one set of twins and two other children,” he stated

Ishola added that Adeniji-Adele got British passports for his children after he returned to the UK.

He was at the point of getting entry clearance for his wife to join him in the UK with the children when he passed on.”

The widow, Kehinde, in a moving tribute on Facebook, described him as a loving husband.

“Ademi, Okomi, Ololufe mi, I am writing this with a deep pain my heart. Thank you for being that husband that will give his last fight to make sure all goes well in the family, even though I misunderstood you then, now I understand better,” she wrote.

When contacted by Saturday PUNCH, Kehinde said she spoke to her husband a day before the incident.

She noted that after they chatted for some time, he said he was exhausted.

“He said he wanted to sleep. I said he shouldn’t worry that I would call him the following day.

But when I called him the following day, which was Monday, he didn’t pick up. So, I assumed he hadn’t woken up or maybe he just wanted to take a nap.”

She said after she did not hear from him, she became worried.

“Around 3.15pm, I called him and someone picked but I heard a scream. Then, a white man answered the phone and asked me questions.

“The man asked for my husband’s name and I said it. He asked who I was, and I said I’m his wife. He asked me to call my number and I did. He then said I was truly his wife.

“He then announced the death of my husband to me on the phone. He explained what happened and how he was not seen in the office, before a welfare check was sent to his residence,” she added.

Speaking about the burial plans, the woman said the British authorities wanted to conduct an autopsy to confirm the cause of his death.

She confirmed that her husband was making plans for her to join him in the UK.