By Infactng
Families of eight children are still in mourning following the gruesome death of the children inside a Honda Sport Utility Vehicle parked on Adelayo Street, in the Jah-Michael area, Badagry Expressway, Lagos State.
The kids who were said to have been permitted to attend an Islamic class in the neighbourhood were said to be playing inside the SUV when they mistakenly locked themselves in as efforts to unlock the door proved abortive.
One of the parents, after waiting endlessly for the return of her children discovered the lifeless bodies inside the SUV and raised alarm which attracted people in the neighbourhood.
Afsat Isiaka, sat quietly, her eyes wearing a long and sad look as sympathizers crowded around her, offering muddled words of comfort, she lost three of her children in the tragedy.
“I know no wetin happen,” she began when she eventually spoke. It was in a voice devoid of emotions, numbed and dry. “My second sef go find the children, the woman sef stay inside compound and call me say make I come, na so I find the children inside car, all of children don die,” she said in pidgin English.
She said the children were foaming in the mouth by the time they were brought down from the vehicle.
Her children, Abdulwahab Isiaka, Yakub Isiaka, and Zainab Isiaka were 11, 5 and 3 years old respectively.
Jibril Ibrahim’s two children also perished in the tragedy. He seemed to have resigned his fate as he looked sad but not crestfallen. He also confirmed that the autopsy was to cost N100,000 each.
“They said they wan carry them to hospital and me I be Muslim. We carried then to General Hospital, that same yesterday, police gave us paper, they say they want to transfer us to Ikeja, LUTH. They said each person is N100, 000 to check, that is N800, 000 for eight of them,” he said.
Children buried in tears
The children were buried Sunday morning according to Islamic rites, but without any autopsy conducted on them to determine the real cause of the death.
A development worker, Mark Akande, also the founder of Society for Youth Advancement and Creativity Initiative (SHACo), visited the community on Sunday and reports that no autopsy was conducted on the children.
“The parents reportedly took the children to the General Hospital at Badagry, and the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), where they were told to bring N100, 000 each for the hospital to conduct autopsy on the children.
“The parents decided not to take them for autopsy at LUTH. They said it is against Islamic laws to spend money on the dead,” Mr Akande said.
The police spokesperson, CSP Adekunle Ajisebutu, confirmed that the children reportedly entered a parked vehicle while playing around and died from suffocation. He said the owner of the vehicle has been detained at the Area K police station. He promised to carry the public along as investigations continue.
Ajusebutu also in a statement on Sunday, said the state Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, had ordered a probe into the incident, adding that the corpses had been deposited in a morgue.
He said, “The eight children while playing were said to have mistakenly locked themselves in an abandoned car. Their bodies have been recovered and deposited in the Badagry General Hospital’s morgue for autopsies in order to determine the actual cause of death.
“Notwithstanding the report made to the police, the Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, has ordered a thorough and speedy investigation into the circumstances surrounding their death. The CP also commiserates with the families of the victims.”
