Three children of a 40-year-old man, Najeem
Oseni, have yet to be found following a canoe tragedy that occurred at Imude in
Otto-Awori Local Council Development Area of Lagos State on Sunday.
The children – Suleiman, Wasiu (males) and
Risikat (female) – were among the 10 passengers that boarded the canoe from
Idoluwo on their way to Ikotun in the LCDA.
Their father, Oseni, evoked sympathy as he
bemoaned the fate that befell him when officials of the Lagos State Emergency
Management Authority and naval men attached to it continued their recovery
operations.
The grief-stricken father said, “My children were
coming from Idoluwo where they went to celebrate Eid-el- Kabir with my family.
“Let someone tell me I am dreaming. How can I
lose three children at a time? My children are better dead than missing.”
Oseni said amid sorrow that his children were
going back to Imude where they lived.
Although he insisted that he would not leave the
shore until his children were found, sympathisers persuaded him to leave the scene.
The residents of the community blamed the
accident on the recklessness of operators of a speed boat sailing through the
waterways.
The General Manager of LASEMA, Dr. Femi
Oke-Osanyintolu, said five bodies had been recovered on Sunday evening.
It was learnt that the body of a four-year-old
boy was also recovered on Monday.
PUNCH Metro learnt that all the
passengers in the canoe died when waves generated by a passing speedboat swayed
the canoe making it to capsize.
The victims apparently did not wear life jackets.
Our correspondent learnt that the passengers
boarded the canoe at Idoluwo-Ile and were heading for Ikotun.
Some eyewitnesses said the victims seemed to have
gone for the Eid-el-Kabir celebration and were heading back to their base when
the tragedy occurred.
Oke-Osanyintolu, whose men were on hand for the
recovery operation on Sunday, said the fact that the passengers did not use
life jackets made their survival impossible.
“LASEMA has warned many times in the past that
people using canoes should make use of life jackets for their own safety. Most
of the passengers of the boats were teenagers,” he said.
LASEMA and naval officials and other emergency
first responders have been at the scene since Sunday evening for the recovery
efforts.
On Monday, LASEMA and naval officials also
resumed recovery efforts at Imude. Hours of search resulted in the recovery of
the body of a four-year-old boy.
It was learnt that the canoe was paddled by a
10-year-old boy whose identity has not been determined.
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