A three-year-old boy, Chibuike Uba, has tragically lost his life after falling into an open soakaway in the Babarinsa area of Ibeju Lekki, Lagos State.
The incident occurred on Wednesday while the boy’s mother, identified as Utoro, was visiting her aunt in the community. According to accounts, Utoro, who resides in the Epe area, was packing her belongings in preparation to leave when her son left the room to follow her aunt, who had stepped out to take a phone call.
Trouble began when the aunt returned indoors, and Utoro inquired about her son’s whereabouts. The aunt assumed he had come back inside, but Utoro quickly discovered he was missing.
In a desperate search, Utoro spotted her son’s slippers near an open soakaway in a neighbouring compound — one without a fence — and raised the alarm.
Narrating the ordeal in a voice note sent to our correspondent on Thursday, the grieving mother said, “I visited my aunt and was packing to return home when she went outside to take a call. My son followed her. I thought he was still with her. But when she came back, I asked where he was, and she said he had returned. I rushed out and couldn’t find him. Then I saw his slippers near the soakaway next door and screamed that my baby had fallen in.”
The boy was pulled from the soakaway and rushed to a nearby private clinic in the Sapati area, from where he was referred to the General Hospital in Akodo. Despite being placed on oxygen, doctors later confirmed his death.
Utoro blamed the tragedy on the negligence of the landlord, alleging that her aunt had repeatedly warned him to seal off the soakaway. “My aunt told him several times to close it. He kept saying he would. Even the plank she used to cover it was damaged by the flood. The soakaway is still open as we speak,” she lamented.
Attempts to reach the landlord for comments proved futile, as his contact details were unavailable.
However, human rights advocate and founder of the Harmony Advocacy Network, Harmony Tachie, confirmed to our correspondent that the landlord does not reside in the community.
“We’ve been unable to reach him because he doesn’t live here. But we are pushing for the matter to be reported formally at the police station to ensure justice is served,” Tachie said.
The tragic incident has sparked fresh concerns over safety standards and accountability in residential communities, particularly in underregulated areas of Lagos.