Two staff members of the KFC eatery in Festac Town, Lagos, have been arrested by police over the death of a 20-year-old colleague last Friday.
Relatives and friends of the deceased, Anita Chiwendu, stormed the eatery to demand her corpse on Wednesday morning, five days after she was reported dead.
Late Anita, according to her employers, slumped while spreading her clothes on the line. The tragedy happened two months after she was employed.
Her family and loved ones are yet to take in the explanation of the circumstances surrounding her death, insisting rather on seeing her corpse first.
One of the protesters, who simply gave his name as Jide, said: “We embarked on this protest to demand her corpse. She was the only daughter of her parents. Her family was informed a day after the incident happened. Since then, the family does not know where the corpse is.”
A relative, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the company first alerted the Police, adding: “It was the police who invited Anita’s mom to the station, where she was informed of the tragedy.
“Last Sunday, being July 10, 2023, some members of the family visited the Police at Festac and demanded to see her body. They were told that the body was at the Marina Mortuary. Later, they said it was at the Ikorodu mortuary. From Ikorodu, they were taken to the Task Force, Oshodi, where they were told that the driver who had the means of identifying the corpse was not around.
“This back-and-forth thing is arousing suspicion, suggesting that the family has not been told exactly what killed its healthy daughter.”
Efforts to speak with management of the eatery failed, but a member of staff, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said: “Management is careful not to speak at this point because it is a sad situation. She screamed and slumped while hanging her clothes on the line. She was rushed to two hospitals and was pronounced dead at the second one.”
Contacted, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hudenyi,said two staff members of the eatery had been arrested.
He said, “They are still in our custody. The case was reported at the Festac Division, from where it was transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba. An investigating team visited KFC yesterday (Thursday) to check the Close Circuit Television, CCTV, as part of the investigation.”
