12-Year-Old Boy Drowns In Ogun Hotel Swimming Pool

Iremide Opeifa, a 12-year-old boy, drowned in a swimming pool at the Grand Bank Link Hotels on Idiroko Road in Sango Ota, Ogun State.

He had finished assisting his mother at her shop in the area before leaving for the hotel to use the pool on Sunday evening, April 28.

Unfortunately, that was the last time his family saw him alive.

According to Punch, Kehinde Opeifa, the deceased’s mother’s younger sister, said that the hotel made no effort to provide Iremide with medical attention before his mother arrived.

She further said that no lifeguard was present on the hotel grounds to keep swimmers safe.

She said, “Iremide and his brother were assisting their mother in the shop before she left to buy some things for them as they were planning to resume school on Monday. His brother said he wanted to urinate on their way home, and after that, he did not see him again. So, he went back to the shop.

“While looking for his brother, one of their friends said they saw Iremide at Grand Bank Link Hotels. By the time he got there, he saw Iremide lying lifeless on the floor. That was when he ran home to inform his mum. So, when we got there, we saw the body.

“No effort was even made to take him to the hospital, they just left him there on the floor. We asked the person in charge of the pool why he collected money from such a young boy and allowed him into the swimming pool. So, the mother immediately went to the Police Division at Onipanu Ota to report the incident and thereafter rushed him to the hospital. He was rejected at two different hospitals. When we got to the third one, he was confirmed dead on arrival.”

Modupe Babafemi, a different family member, asserted that after the incident was reported at the station, the police did nothing to see the boy’s corpse.

Additionally, Babafemi said that the mother of the deceased was persuaded by the police to get an affidavit promising not to pursue legal action.

She said, “Since we reported the incident to the police, they did not make any attempt to go to the hotel and did not bother to see the corpse. The hospital where he was confirmed dead was even beside the police station yet they did not leave the station to check on him. They were even telling us to get an affidavit to withdraw the case.”

The hotel’s lawyer, Israel Ozolua, told the publication that he was told that the boy did not use the facility’s lifeguards before to the tragedy.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Omolola Odutola, confirmed the incident, saying, “There was a report in Onipanu about a drowning incident on Sunday at about 8:40 pm. A woman named Florence Opeifa reported that her 12-year-old son, Iremide Opeifa, was rushed to the hospital after drowning while swimming with friends at the Grand Park Hotel, Ota.

“Sadly, he was confirmed dead at the hospital. Detectives visited the scene, took photos, and the body was taken to the hospital morgue.”

A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.

Nnamdi Okoli