The real incident that led to the death of the two siblings who got drowned in a river at Oke Ijetu area along Ilesa Garage in Osogbo, Osun State on New Year’s eve, has been unravelled.
Investigations by Daily Sun indicated that the victims – Taofiq Adeyeku (16) and Mustapha Adeyeku (11) – who hailed from Oriade Local Government Area of the state were brought from Lagos on a visit to their elder sister in Osogbo to celebrate the New Year.
Sources told Daily Sun that they were taken to the river by their sister, her husband (names withheld) to catch fun ahead of the New Year celebrations.
The sources who preferred anonymity told Daily Sun that the woman and her husband as well as the victims had gone to bathe in the river at Onababaona where Governor Rauf Aregbesola is currently constructing a bridge when the incident happened.
After taking their bath, the children decided to play ball in continuation of the fun, but the ball fell into the river in the process.
Eyewitnesses said: “The younger kid, Mustapha, in an attempt to pick the ball fell into the river and got drowned immediately. When his senior brother, Taofiq, jumped into the river to rescue him, he also got drowned. It was then the husband of their sister also jumped into the river to rescue them, but narrowly escaped being drowned.
“It was a passersby who had been attracted to the scene by the couple’s tragic shouts that rescued him when they threw a bamboo tree into the river and pulled him out.”
Another eyewitness said help could not come their way promptly because nobody noticed early enough when they got drowned.
“The children came from Lagos State to celebrate the New Year with one of their elder sisters in Osogbo when they died. They drowned while attempting to pick their ball that fell into the river after taking a bath in it and decided to play ball to catch fun. Help could not come their way immediately because nobody noticed early enough that they had been drowned,” he said.
It was gathered that their remains had been deposited in Asubiaro Hospital mortuary, Osogbo.
Police Public Relations Officer, Mrs. Folasade Odoro, who confirmed the incident, said the police later recovered the corpses and took them to Asubiaro Hospital, Osogbo, where a medical doctor confirmed them dead.
She also disclosed that autopsy would conducted on the bodies.