Tragedy as 3-year-old boy falls inside soakaway

A three-year-old boy, Chibuike Uba, has died after reportedly falling into an uncovered soakaway pit in the Babarinsa area of Ibeju Lekki, Lagos State.

The incident occurred on Wednesday while Chibuike and his mother, Utoro, were visiting her aunt in the community. According to accounts, Utoro—who lives in Epe—was gathering her belongings in preparation to leave when the child wandered off.

The aunt had stepped outside to take a phone call, and Chibuike was believed to have followed her. When she returned, Utoro inquired about her son’s whereabouts, and a frantic search began.

During the search, Utoro discovered her son’s slippers near an open soakaway in a neighboring compound, which reportedly has no perimeter fence.

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In a voice note, the grieving mother recounted the events. “I visited my aunt and was packing my bags to head back home when she received a call and my son followed her outside. I continued packing, assuming he was still with her. When she came back inside, I asked about my son’s whereabouts, and she claimed he had returned inside. I said no and quickly rushed outside to search for him but couldn’t find him.That was when I noticed his slippers near the soakaway on the next compound beside the house because it has no fence. I immediately shouted that my baby was inside the soakaway. That was how we quickly made efforts to pull him out and rushed him to the hospital.”

Chibuike was initially taken to a nearby clinic in the Sapati area and later referred to the General Hospital in Akodo. Despite being placed on oxygen, doctors later confirmed his death.

Utoro holds the property owner responsible for the tragedy, stating that her aunt had previously warned the landlord about the open pit.

“My aunt called the man and said she had repeatedly warned him to close the soakaway, but he kept promising to. Even the plank that my aunt used to cover it was damaged by the flood. As I speak to you, the soakaway is still open.”

Attempts to confirm the mother’s claims were unsuccessful, as contact information for the landlord could not be obtained.

Speaking on the incident, Harmony Tachie, a human rights advocate and founder of the Harmony Advocacy Network, said on Thursday that the landlord is not a resident of the area.

“We have been unable to reach the landlord because he does not stay in the area. We are also trying to ensure that the incident is reported at the police station to get justice,” she said.