10-year-old boy drowns in Lagos flood

A 10-year-old boy, Obinna Okoro, has been confirmed dead after drowning in a flood along Liasu Road, Idimu in the Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the incident occurred during the downpour witnessed in the state on Sunday.

It was gathered that the late Okoro and his younger sister were trekking on a walkway close to the Juba Alaro end of the road while returning from church.

Unfortunately, he was said to have slipped and fallen into an open space on the walkway, causing the flood in the drainage to sweep him away in the process.
An eyewitness, Morishade Ishola, told our correspondent on Thursday that the walkway was already covered by water when they were both walking on it.

According to her, the younger sister immediately raised the alarm after she could not find her brother.

Ishola said, “The road was flooded after the rain and the water was much to the point it covered the walkway. So, the boy and his sister never knew one of the slabs covering the drainage had caved in. It was when he got to the point that he slipped into it. We didn’t know what happened until the sister started crying. It was when we moved closer to her that she told us that her brother fell into the hole.”
While narrating the attempts made to rescue the late Obinna, a resident, who identified himself simply as Kunle, told our correspondent that other residents and passers-by immediately swung into action as some of them jumped into the drainage.

“About two rescuers entered into the drainage. One of them entered from the point where he fell and the other person entered at Juba Alaro junction from where the flood flows through into the canal in the area but unfortunately, they could not find him,” he said.

During a visit to the community on Wednesday, our correspondent discovered that there were two separate holes in the walkway where the incident happened.

It was also gathered that the late Obinna’s remains were found on Tuesday after an intensive search for his body.

His father, Jonathan, disclosed this when our correspondent visited the home of the deceased.

Jonathan, who was in a pensive mood, said, “I and some residents went in search of him after the incident. We traced the drainage channel towards the canal and from there connected from one street to another. This went on till Tuesday before I later got a call that a corpse was found around the Egbe bridge area. I quickly rushed there and found out that he was the one.”

He added that the late Obinna was buried the same day.