3rd November, 2010
World Bank assisted drain project in Agege, Lagos State has killed two persons, a 10-year old, Ibrahim Bolaji and a member of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, simply called Idowu.
P.M.NEWS gathered that several other persons sustained injuries and are now receiving treatment in private hospitals after falling into the drain.
The elder sister of the late Bolaji said: “I received a call from my younger sister that Ibrahim is dead so I screamed, saying ‘but he was sleeping before I left the house for my place in Ojodu Berger area on the day of the incident.â€
An eyewitness, Prophet Solomon Oluwayinka Abioye, claimed he warned the site engineer that the drainage constitute a danger to the community because of the depth but he said that the drainage will be of benefit to the community after it might have been completed.
Abioye said the drainage had been handled by three different contractors and it was recently abandoned.
This, he said, led to the death of Ibrahim and another person simply identified as Idowu.
Abioye said he sent a save-our-soul message to Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola, four days before the tragedy, but nothing was done.
Another eye witness, Mrs. Ibrahim said: “They called to tell us that someone fell inside the drainage but before we got there, the person had been removed and taken to the hospital where he died.
“Another message got to us that another person fell inside but before help could come, he had died and the corpse was taken to a private mortuary in Agege, Lagos.
According to Yisa Danjuma, who made effort to rescue them, “I went inside the drainage as soon as I got information that people fell inside it but before I could rescue them, they had died.â€
A survivor of the tragedy, Amidu Babatunde Owoilu of 5, Kasumu Street, Okekoto, Agege, said he fell into the drainage on 23 Ocotober, 2010 but was rescued and taken to the hospital.
Another victim, Mrs. Ayisatu Ojedele, said she fell into the drainage last month and broke her leg.
“I have been in this problem since last month. I want God to come to my aid because I have nobody to assist me,†she told our reporter yesterday.
The Secretary to the Local Government, SLG in Agege said, “We have not visited the scene of the incident though the project is not being executed by the local or state government. It is a World Bank financed project.â€
He advised people to stay off the project site. He advised parents to keep their children off the drainage and that the council chairman would visit the site to find a solution that will prevent people from falling into the drainage.
—Dedeigbo Ayodeji
