The family of a minor, Ahmed Amao, have been mourning after he fell into a well and drowned at their residence at Sari Iganmu, in the Orile area of Lagos State.
PUNCH Metro gathered that Ahmed, whose mother had died, had been living with his mother’s elder sister, Ganiyat Jimoh, at her residence around Sari Iganmu.
Both of them were said to be at home when Ahmed informed Jimoh that he needed to make use of the toilet.
Ahmed, after talking to Jimoh, reportedly picked up a bucket to fetch water from a well located at their residence.
The 12-year-old was said to be fetching the water when he lost balance and fell into the well.
During a visit to the scene of the incident on Saturday, Jimoh, who had been acting as Ahmed’s guardian, told our correspondent that efforts to rescue the minor after he fell into the well proved abortive.
She explained that Ahmed was sick on the day of the incident, adding that the sound of the minor falling into well alerted neighbors.
The food vendor said, “He (Ahmed) was the child of my younger sister who is late. On the day of the incident, he was sick. He said he wanted to use the toilet, so he picked up a bucket and went to fetch water from the well.
“The neighbors whose window is located close to the well said they heard a loud sound. So, one of the children rushed to where I was and started saying ‘Ahmed has fallen into the well.’ My child quickly entered the well in an attempt to rescue Ahmed but couldn’t because the well was deep.
“He came out with bruises on his body. The height of the well’s opening is very low to the ground. We went to call local divers known as the Ilajes and some mallams to assist us but the Ilajes that entered the well said they didn’t see the child.”
The aggrieved guardian said her nephew drowned in the well, adding that when officials of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service at the Marine Beach were contacted, it took them about three hours to get to the incident scene.
“We believed the child would have died for staying that long in the well. Ahmed’s corpse was later recovered,” she said.
Jimoh said after Ahmed’s death, residents stopped fetching water from the well, adding that they preferred going to the next compound to get water from another well.
She said, “The police were around all through the period of attempting to recover Ahmed’s corpse from the well. The following day, we got a police report and went to bury his corpse in accordance with Islamic rites.
“But since the incident, no one has fetched water from the well. The well has been covered with planks while the opening of the well in the next compound has been well constructed for safety.”
Asked if the landlord of the house had shown concern over the condition of the well, Jimoh said, “One of the landlords has travelled out but the other one came to greet us. We have left everything to God.”
Ahmed’s father, Nurudeen, who was reluctant to speak to our correspondent, described the tragic experience that befell his late son as the will of God.
He said, “I don’t want to say anything about it again. Bye gone is bye gone; God gave us and God took him. I don’t want to remember the incident again because it saddens me.”
Contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the incident to our correspondent.
He said, “The victim’s father was the one who reported the case at the police station and based on the report, policemen mobilised to the scene and through a joint operation with firefighters, the boy’s corpse was brought out from the well.”
The General Manager, Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Margaret Adeseye, said she was going to get back to our correspondent but had yet to do so as of the time this report was filed.
