By Sunday Apah
A tragic incident has claimed the life of three-year-old Chibuike Uba, who drowned after falling into an uncovered soakaway in Babarinsa, located in the Ibeju Lekki area of Lagos State.
According to reports, the incident happened on Wednesday during a visit to his aunt’s house in the community. Chibuike’s mother, Utoro, who lives in the Epe area of Lagos, was packing her belongings in preparation to leave when her son slipped away from her sight. She had stepped out of the room to meet her aunt, who had briefly gone outside to make a phone call.
When her aunt returned, Utoro inquired about her son’s whereabouts, only to realize he was missing. A frantic search ensued, and Uba’s slippers were discovered near an open soakaway on the neighboring compound. Alarmed, she raised an urgent call for help.
In a voice note shared with our correspondent on Thursday, Utoro expressed her distress, saying, “I was packing to leave when my aunt got a call, and my son followed her outside. I thought he was still with her, so I continued packing. When she returned inside, I asked about my son, but she said he had come back inside. I quickly went outside to look for him but couldn’t find him.”
She continued, “That’s when I saw his slippers near the soakaway in the next compound, which has no fence. I shouted that my baby was inside the soakaway. We immediately tried to rescue him and rushed him to the hospital.”
Chibuike was taken to a nearby healthcare facility in Sapati, and later transferred to the General Hospital in Akodo. Despite being placed on oxygen, doctors confirmed that he had passed away.
Utoro accused the landlord of negligence, claiming that her aunt had repeatedly warned him to secure the soakaway, but he had failed to do so. “My aunt told the landlord several times to cover the soakaway, but he kept promising to do so. The wooden cover she used was damaged by flooding, and as of now, the soakaway remains open,” she lamented.
Efforts to reach the landlord for comment were unsuccessful, as contact details could not be obtained. Harmony Tachie, a human rights advocate and founder of the Harmony Advocacy Network, stated that the landlord does not reside in the community. “We’ve been unable to reach him, and we are working to report the incident to the police to seek justice,” she said.
This tragic event follows a similar incident in November 2024, when 10-year-old Obinna Okoro drowned after slipping into floodwaters along Liasu Road, Idimu, during heavy rainfall. Obinna and his younger sister were walking home from church when he lost footing on an unprotected walkway, causing him to be swept away by floodwaters.
