A body thought to be that of missing Coventry University Masters degree student - Ozeivo (Ozi) Akerele, has been found in undergrowth in a disused graveyard on Old Church Road, Foleshill, in Coventry - more than a year later.
Two 10-year old boys who had climbed in to the graveyard to retrieve a football, made the gruesome discovery last Thursday.
Ozeivo (Ozi) Akerele
Ozeivo (Ozi) Akerele
There has been widespread criticism of previous West Midland Police searches which included searches of Coventry's waterways - following speculations that he might have fell into a canal close to where he was last sighted.
However, the Police defended the fact that officers failed to find the body earlier. They said: “Specialist search officers conducted a series of extensive examinations of key areas of the city.
“Search areas were defined based on information available to officers at the time.”
Ozi arrived from Nigeria weeks before his disappearance to study for a MSc Management of Information Technology after completing studies in Nigeria. He left behind three younger brothers and his widowed mother - Irene Ajayi Akerele, who is Vice Principal at a secondary school in Abuja.
24-year-old Ozi was last seen on January 31, 2015, just yards from where the body was discovered.
His mother, in an appeal when he was first reported missing, said: “Ozi is on the quiet side, he doesn’t talk much, but he is a happy boy, he’s always excited. He likes friends around him, he’s very generous.
“He was happy to come to Coventry University, he wanted it, he sought the admission himself. At times now, I regret sending him out to do his Masters Degree.
“I can’t be alone without him, I can’t leave without Ozeivo.”
At press time, police said a post-mortem examination on the body proved inconclusive and further tests will be carried out to establish the cause of death.
Ozi’s family have been informed and are being supported by officers.