Mr. Gabriel Ebubechukwu, the father of two
teenage schoolboys, Godspower and Marvellous Ebubechukwu, who were found dead
in a lagoon in Ibeshe, in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State on Saturday, says he
suspects foul play.
Gabriel said although the corpses of his
children were recovered naked, neither their shoes nor clothes were found on
the shore.
He said on Monday that their friends might
have lured them to the lagoon to swim.
The siblings, who lived on Blessing Estate
in Ibeshe, had reportedly gone missing on Thursday shortly after they returned
home from school – Keme Balogun Junior and Senior Secondary Schools around 3pm.
While 11-year-old Godspower was in Junior
Secondary School 2, his elder brother, Marvellous, 13, was in Senior Secondary
School 1.
Their bodies were found floating on the
water on Saturday by some security guards in the community and the matter
reported to the police at the Ipakodo division.
Gabriel, a teacher, speaking on behalf of the
family, described the incident as devastating.
He said, “Nobody was at home when they came
back from school on that day. They usually returned home around 3pm. When I got
home at 4pm, they were nowhere to be found but their schoolbags and uniforms
were on the floor. People joined me and my wife to search for them.
“When we couldn’t find them, we reported to
the police at the Owode division but they told us to come back after 24 hours.
We went back on Friday and were referred to the Ipakodo division.
“It was on Saturday morning that some
security men came to our house and told me they found two bodies in the lagoon.
On getting there, I discovered they were Marvellous and his brother, Godspower.
They were naked. I guess they went to swim with their friends. They didn’t know
how to swim.
“But we did not find their clothes around
the river, which made me to suspect that there is more to it. I even thought
they were abducted.”
Gabriel said he had been trying to calm the
deceased’s two siblings and their mother, adding that he had taken solace in
God.
A neighbour of the family, who identified
himself only as Emmanuel, urged the police to investigate the remote cause of
the incident.
He said, “The boys were intelligent and
friendly. We used to joke a lot. In all our discussions, they never mentioned
swimming as their hobby. That was why I was surprised when I heard they
drowned. I want the police to do a thorough job on the case and find out what
actually transpired.”
The Lagos State Police Public Relations
Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, said the command had commenced investigation into
the incident.
She said, “It was a case of missing
children. Their corpses were recovered from the lagoon. Sources said they went
to the river to bath while on their way from the school. However, the command
is investigating the case to ascertain what actually happened.”
Source:The
Punch
Tags
Society