Tragic Loss: 3-Year-Old Boy Dies After Falling into Open Soakaway in Lagos
Enet
A tragic incident occurred on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in Babarinsa, Ibeju Lekki, Lagos State, where three-year-old Chibuike Uba died after falling into an open soakaway.
Chibuike’s mother, Utoro, who lives in Epe, was visiting her aunt in the community and was packing to return home when the incident happened. While Utoro was inside, her son followed her aunt outside as she stepped out to take a phone call. When the aunt returned, Utoro asked about Chibuike’s whereabouts, only to discover he was missing.
During a desperate search, Utoro found her son’s slippers near an open soakaway in the neighboring compound, which lacked a fence. She raised the alarm, and Chibuike was quickly pulled out and rushed to a hospital in Sapati, then transferred to Akodo General Hospital. Despite being placed on oxygen, doctors pronounced him dead.
In a heartbroken voice note shared with Punch on Thursday, Utoro recounted, “I was packing when my aunt stepped out for a call, and my son followed her. I thought he was with her. When she returned, she said he’d come back inside, but he hadn’t. I rushed out, saw his slippers by the soakaway, and knew he was inside. We pulled him out and took him to the hospital, but it was too late.”
Utoro blames the landlord, alleging her aunt had repeatedly warned him to cover the soakaway, but he failed to act. “Even the plank my aunt used to cover it was damaged by a flood. The soakaway is still open,” she said.
Harmony Tachie, founder of Harmony Advocacy Network, noted that the landlord does not reside in the community.
