A 3-year-old boy, Samuel Emmanuel Oluwatunmise, on Sunday, July 19, 2015 fell into a deep well and died while he was playing with his friends at Hassan Street, Ayinla Avenue in the Ita-Oluwo area of Ikorodu, Lagos State.
A double tragedy was however, averted around 3pm when the deceased immediate elder brother, Timileyin Samuel,4, attempted to jump into the well to rescue his brother, but was stopped.
According to residents, the lifeless remains of the deceased was recovered around 8pm of same day by the joint effort of Lagos State Fire Services and local Police called ‘Onyabo’.
A source in the know said the well which was dug over a decade ago had been abandoned when water no longer came from it.
The deceased elder brother, Ayoola, lamented the painful death of his younger brother, and blamed the owner of the well for failing to cover it for years despite the fact that it was no longer in use.
The victim had been buried as at Monday, July 20, 2015 while sympathisers crowded the family to pay their condolences to the bereaved family.
Vanguard who visited the scene observed that the killer well was almost parallel to the earth surface and was still uncovered at the time of the visit.
The bereaved mother, Kikelomo, 40, from Ondo State, narrated the incident amidst profuse tears which flowed freely down her face.
She said: “This is our eighth year in this community and I never knew such a well exists.
“My husband was at home for holidays and my baby was invited to a neighbouring house by his playmates but two hours after they left, I went in search of them only to find my four years old boy pointing into the well in an attempt to follow his younger brother who had fallen inside but I stopped him and raised the alarm which attracted sympathisers.’’
On his part, the bereaved father of the deceased, Sergeant Abu Samuel, said the most painful aspect was that the landlord buried his child without his consent.
He said, “I was on duty when I was called that my son had drowned only to come back home and be told he was dead. To add insult to injury, that man (the landlord) buried my child somewhere in Agodo without my consent.”
It was gathered that the owner of the building, Bamidele Ogunwole, underwent interrogation at Ogijo Police Division on Monday, July 20, 2015 although the outcome of the interrogation had not been disclosed.
But the chairman, Agodo/Alara Community Development Association, Mr. Jumah Quadri, said efforts were on to forestal a recurrence.
He said, “The landlord will be summoned and the well will be blocked.”
The Director, Lagos Fire Service, Rasaq Fadipe, who confirmed the incident, said, “Our men from Ikorodu fire station responded, but the child was brought out dead.”
Additionally, the Ogun State Police spokesperson, DSP Muyiwa Adejobi, said, “He (the landlord) is in our custody. We will do something about the case.”
