Toddler drowns in sewage pit in neglected Lagos residence

 

 Mrs. Bilikisu Adetunji, a resident in the compound, was doing the laundry, while her daughter, one-year old Alimat played nearby.
Then tragedy struck when the little girl fell into an open sewage pit in the compound and died immediately. At first, no one was aware the little girl was dead.
Mrs Adetunji said she had only stepped into her flat for a short while to get a change of clothes for her baby girl, but when she returned back outside Alimat was no where to be found.
“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,” she said.
The victim’s father, Mr. Obakayeja Adetunji said he was away at the time of his daughter’s death, but was informed she 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.”
A neighbor, Bolaji Adejobi, found the body of the little girl.
Adejobi joined other neighbors in searching for the missing girl at first, while her parents lodged a complaint with local leaders.
As the search continued, Adejobi’s attention was shifted to the sewage pit where the neighbor noticed the hands, legs and clothing of the little girl.
“I quickly called on people around to assist me in bringing her lifeless body out of the pit,” Adejobi said.
Another neighbor, Yemisi Rawas, said the sewage gets about four feet deep when it overflows from the sewage.
The parents of the deceased little girl are placing the blame for their daughter’s death squarely on the landlord of the building, whose negligence, they claim, led to the Alimat’s death.
While Lagos police officers are pressing charges against the landlord, they are also holding Mr. and Mrs. Adetunji responsible.
Inspector Orisa Cletus explained that Alimat’s death is being treated as a homicide and plan to charge the landlord of the building with murder.
The grieving parents are also being investigated.