Nigerian Senator Slips Dies In Bathroom, Body Found 72 Hours Later

By Adesina Soyooye 

He died an agonising and lonely death. For 72 hours,  Senator Bello Mandiya, lay alone in his bathroom,  stone dead, to the knowledge of nobody.

It is not known how long he lay in the bathroom struggling, before he died, and was discovered 72 hours later. What is even more surprising is that the former Senator was in the house alone. No family member. No domestic servant. Shocking.

The story is that he allegedly slipped in the bathroom after taking his bath. When he fell, he reportedly, hit his head either on the bathtub or floor, and died alone in his Abuja residence.

His decomposing body was discovered 72 hours later, allegedly bybneighbours when they could not explain nor endure the foul smell. They  raised the alarm over the foul smell. His body was discovered on September 7, 2026.

According to Senator Abdul Ningi, Bauchi Central, who narrated the horrifying circumstances of  Senator Mandiya’s death during Senate plenary session, the sad situation is a painful reminder of the uncertainty of life.

Senator Ningi disclosed that he was in Saudi Arabia when the late Senator’s son called and  told him of the tragic fate which has befallen the former Katsina South senator.

Senator Mandiya, according to Senator Ningi, was  seen by a colleague around 11am on Friday, September 4, for the last time,  before he returned to his Abuja residence. He lived alone there.

Before his death he was said to be getting ready to attend the Friday congregational prayer.

Ningi at the Senate plenary: “He brought out his cap, his phones, and put them on the bed, and went into the bathroom to take his bath. 

“After taking his bath, when he was out of the bathroom, then he slipped and knocked his head in the bathroom.”

But his fall was unnoticed for three days. Nobody knew why he had not been seen in public. An alarm was raised based on the foul odour which began to emanate from the apartment. That was when neighbours began to worry about his long absence.

Even the Chief Imam of Apo was said to have  become concerned after he noticed that Senator Mandiya, “who regularly attended the five daily Muslim prayers, had been absent for three consecutive days.”

That was when two and two were added together, considering the Imam’s worries and the foul smell triggered a forced opening of the door and the discovery of Mandiya’s  decomposing body in the bathroom.

Ningi: “For 72 hours, Mr President, nobody knew where Bello Mandiya was.

“And there lies Bello Mandiya in the bathroom, lifeless. Seventy-two hours, and that’s a simple tragedy.

“There is nothing permanent about anything. Nothing permanent about our position., nothing permanent about our wealth.”

Senator Mandiya, APC, was elected in 2019. He represented Katsina South Senatorial District in the 9th Senate until 2023. Before 2019, he was Chief of Staff to former Katsina State Governor, Aminu Bello Masari. He was Chairman, Senate Committee on Water Resources.