A three-year-old boy, Chibuike Uba, tragically lost his life on Wednesday after falling into an open soakaway at Babarinsa in the Ibeju-Lekki area of Lagos State.
The incident occurred while Chibuike and his mother, Utoro, were visiting her aunt in the community. According to reports, Utoro, a resident of the Epe area, was packing her belongings to return home when her son wandered off. He was believed to have followed her aunt, who had briefly stepped outside to take a phone call.
Upon the aunt’s return, Utoro asked about her son’s whereabouts, only to realize he was missing. A frantic search ensued, and moments later, Utoro found the child’s slippers near an open soakaway in the neighboring compound, which lacked a fence. She immediately raised the alarm.
Narrating the incident in a voice note sent to our correspondent on Thursday, the grieving mother said, “I thought he was still with my aunt, but when she returned and said he had come back inside, I panicked. I rushed out to search and saw his slippers beside the soakaway. That was when I screamed for help.”
Efforts were made to rescue the boy from the pit, and he was rushed to a private hospital in the Sapati area before being referred to the General Hospital in Akodo. Despite being placed on oxygen, doctors later confirmed him dead.
Utoro blamed the tragedy on the negligence of the landlord, alleging that her aunt had repeatedly warned him to seal the soakaway, but he failed to act. “The plank my aunt used to cover it had been damaged by floodwaters, and the soakaway remained open,” she said. “Even now, it is still uncovered.”
This claim could not independently be verified as attempts to contact the said landlord were unsuccessful.
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Speaking on the incident, Harmony Tachie, a human rights advocate and founder of the Harmony Advocacy Network, confirmed that the landlord does not reside in the area. “We have been unable to reach him, but we are working to ensure the case is formally reported to the police so the family can get justice,” she said.
