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| ALIMAT |
There
was confusion at 36, Damilola Morounfolu Street, Orisumbare, Akowonjo
area of Lagos State, southwest Nigeria, at about 5.30pm Sunday, when a
year old baby fell into an uncovered sewage pit and died.
The victim, little Alimat Adetunji, was said to have been playing
near her mother while Mrs. Bilikisu Adetunji, her mother, was washing
clothes.
The father of
the deceased, Mr. Adetunji Obakayeja, said: “I was away when I was
called and informed that our daughter was missing.
“While we were
searching for her, they brought my daughter back to me dead and I was
informed that she fell and died inside a sewage pit beside our
compound.”
According to Bilikisu, the mother of the deceased, she was washing inside the compound with the baby by her side.
READ MORE AND SEE THE SOAKAWAY PIT AFTER THE CUT
“I
was inside our compound washing with my baby. I discovered that the
cloth she was putting was wet and I quickly went inside to get another
cloth for her. Before I came out of the room, I couldn’t find her any
longer.
“I went round the street in search of my daughter only for
my child to be brought to me lifeless by a neighbour identified as
Bolaji Adejobi.
“Though I don’t have the power to fight back, I’m
calling on the government to take the matter seriously and bring about
justice,” Bilikisu added.
Commenting on the incident, Bilikisu’s
neighbour, Yemisi Rawas, said that water always overflows from the
sewage, which is about 4ft deep and left uncovered.
According to
Bolaji Adejobi, “We live in the same street with the mother of the
deceased. I took the little girl as my child. This was a child who had
never left her mother. I had to join them in the search after she went
missing.
“While the parents of the little girl went to the Baale’s
palace to lodge their complaint about the missing child, I and other
people started looking for her everywhere including an uncompleted
building around the street.
“My focus shifted to the 4ft sewage
pit where the hands, legs and the cloth the little girl wore were
noticed and I quickly called on people around to assist me in bringing
her lifeless body out of the pit.”
No occupant of the building was available for comment on the matter
as some of them were said to have locked themselves inside their flats
for fear of being attacked as friends of the bereaved family attempted
to vandalise anything on sight.
Efforts to speak with the
caretaker of the house proved abortive as he refused to come out for
comments when information got to him that newsmen were around.
The soakaway pit the toddler fell into. PHOTOS: Umoh-Obong Kingsley
When contacted, policemen from Afonka Divisional Police Headquarters, Shasha, Lagos arrived the scene about 7.30pm.
Inspector Orisa Cletus, who led the team blamed the parents of the child for failing to take proper care of her.
He
also described the case as a murder case, saying that the landlord of
the building would be charged with murder. Meanwhile, the remains of
little Alimat was taken to Afonka Police Station along with the parents
and the caretaker of the house for further investigation.
PM NEWS
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