woman hanging on atree.

There was confusion on Bankole Street, Isheri-
Oke, Lagos on Friday morning when residents
woke up to the sight of a woman hanging on a
tree.
The woman, popularly called Kate in the area, was
found dead in a black sweater and orange skirt
under a pear tree.
Our correspondent, who also visited the scene,
gathered from the residents that the woman did
not live on the street.

Residents who spoke to our correspondent also
said that the woman was a Liberian who worked
in a sachet water factory before she died.
While they said that the woman had been sickly
for some time, the residents said she did not
appear to have any problem with anyone in the
community.

But after the outbreak of the Ebola disease that
was brought to Nigeria by a Liberian diplomat,
Patrick Sawyer, some of the people in the area
opted not to have anything to do with her.
One of the residents who pleaded anonymity said,
“We see her in this neighbourhood every day. She
always looked sick but people stopped selling to
her after the Ebola outbreak. It could be because
she was Liberian and looked sickly. This might
have frustrated her.”
Another resident who spoke to our correspondent
after his request for anonymity was granted said,
“She attended a church in the area and her
church members still saw her yesterday. I used
to see her every day in the dress she died in. She
was sick and people in this area had avoided her,
especially after the Ebola outbreak.”
The PUNCH gathered from some landlords, who
are members of the Isheri Oke Community
Development Association, that the incident had
been reported to the Isheri Police Division.
Efforts to reach the Baale (head) of the area, Chief
Albert Bankole, for comments proved abortive as
he declined to speak to The PUNCH on the issue.
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer,
Ngozi Braide, could not be reached for
comments.
Meanwhile, when our correspondent left the area
around 11am, the woman’s body was still
hanging on the pear tree.