A four-year-old lad, Praise Dada, fell inside a well on Tuesday
following a shout by his mum who found him playing near the well.
The incident occurred at 49, Fakoya Street, Akowonjo area of Egbeda, Lagos around 5pm.
Dada, a Nursery II pupil of Mintlaw International School, followed his
mother to greet a friend while returning from school.Mrs Dada decided to
visit her friend who just opened a shop near the school.
Dada was seen jumping on the well with a fragile lid. As his mother
screamed on the looming danger, the boy, out of shock and panic, was
said to have fell inside the well.The action attracted a huge crowd but
none could enter the well to rescue the boy.
The Nation learnt that it took an hour before he was recovered. He was
declared dead at the Holy Mary Hospital opposite the shop.
An eyewitness, Fola said:
“I was in the room when I heard someone screaming, ‘this child has
killed himself’. Then I ran out to find out what happened. I even
thought it was motorcycle that hit someone. Then I asked them and they
said he fell inside a water. So, I went near the gutter, assuring them
that I will rescue the child. Then I realised he fell inside the well. I
turned back and called 767. We waited for them for over an hour. But
later some Hausa guys came and removed him. By the time he was brought
out, he was dead.
“What I heard was that the shock from his mother’s
scream led the child inside well because he was already jumping on it.
She shouted, fear gripped the boy and he fell down. It was the noise
that attracted a crowd. His mother even wanted to go into the well
before people removed the baby she strapped on her back for safety.”
Another witness, Grace Tosin, said:
“I was sleeping when I heard the landlord’s voice. The woman was passing
by and decided to greet a new tenant here who just rented a shop. After
exchange of greetings, she sat and they started chatting. She got here
around 4pm. She sat here when the child was jumping on the well. When
she saw him on it and tried to rescue him, he got scared and his head
dived into the well. Before we knew it, he was inside the well. The
rescuer had wanted to enter the well much earlier but people were
creating tension and saying he could also die, so the fear delayed him
until he was encouraged again. It was his bag that was first retrieved
before his body. He was rushed to the hospital opposite us where he was
declared dead on arrival.
“The boy’s father was very furious on
hearing the incident. The woman she came to greet had just started
selling yesterday. That is where we usually seat whenever there is heat.
It has never happened before because the well is few inches away from
the ground and it was well covered.”
A nurse, who attended to him, said “the boy was dead on arrival. It took
them long to retrieve him from the well. We tested his pulse and there
was nothing.”
When The Nation visited the family, the father said
“We don’t want any media interference. We have accepted what happened
and we are moving on. Whatever the rumour out there is, we don’t care.
There is nothing to clarify.”