Body of the official steward of Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima, was on Tuesday found hanging on a tree at the back of the Presidential Lodge at the Government House in Maiduguri.
The steward, John Achagwa, was said to have kept mute since he resumed work last Monday.
“He didn’t utter a word since morning. He just kept to himself. We were together till about 2 pm until he suddenly disappeared,” one person spoke in confidence.
Firemen and security officials were immediately mobilised to the scene of the incident to bring down the victim from the tree.
The incident occurred barely 24 hours to the handover of Mr Shettima to the governor-elect.
Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Aliyu, said investigation has commenced on the cause of the steward’s death.
Mr Aliyu said an autopsy could be done on him as part of investigation, adding that family and friends could be questioned.
The police chief said preliminary investigation showed that the man was financially comfortable.
Mr Achagwa was said to have retired from the state civil service about eight years ago before he was retained by the state governor.
Shettima, in a statement by his spokesman, Isa Gusau, said Achagwa was supported by the governor to build a complete seven-bedroom apartment and was also given a car to go to work.
“Governor Kashim Shettima is deeply shocked by the unfortunate incident, especially given the fact that John who is in mid-60s was publicly known to be one of the governor’s favourites as he served important guests at the presidential lodge for more than 30 years,” the statement said.
