The management of the Lagoon Restaurant, Victoria Island, Lagos has denied complicity in the death of one of its employees, Chris Onaghise, who allegedly fell into the lagoon and drowned. The Managing Director of Lagoon Restaurant, Mr Marcel Chaguri, said he was told that the victim fell into the lagoon when he was doing some cleaning at the jetty.
He said: “Two of his colleagues who they were doing the cleaning together, said when he fell, they dived into the lagoon immediately to rescue him but could not trace him.” But Lagos lawyer, Festus Keyamo, said in a petition to the Inspector General of Police on behalf the father of the deceased, Mr Orobosa Onaghise, it was a lady who informed him of the death of his son.
The petition reads in part: “Our client informed us that on 16th June, 2014, that he received a telephone call from a lady who did not identify herself informing him that something tragic had happened to his son, Chris Onaghise, at his workplace. “Our client rushed down to the Lagoon Restaurant. But despite doing his best to get to the restaurant, he could only arrive there after two hours.
Upon arriving at the Lagoon Restaurant, our client was informed that the deceased fell into the lagoon while on duty about 10 O’clock that morning and was still in the lagoon. “When he arrived at the scene of the incident, he demanded to know from the management of the restaurant why no immediate rescue efforts were made to save his son.
“Instead of explanation by the Managing Director of the Lagoon Restaurant, one Mr Rami was said to have informed our client that they had no life jackets, divers nor safety apparatus. “When our client persisted to know why his son was not rescued, rather the Managing Director called a lady on telephone and identified herself as a Police Officer from Bar Beach Police Station in charge of the investigations.”
Keyamo said the policewoman told Onaghise that investigation on the matter had been concluded.’ The father of the deceased, according to him, wondered how the investigation could have been concluded when the body of the deceased was still in the lagoon and none of the witnesses or the management of the Lagoon Restaurant had been questioned.
“For the father of the deceased to get to the root of the matter, he met with the Divisional Police Officer of Bar Beach Police Station where the DPO denied knowledge of the existence of the case and the alleged conclusion of investigation,” the lawyer said.
The DPO was said to have ordered an investigation and invited all the witnesses, including Chaguri. “When the body of the deceased was recovered the following day, bruises and blood stains were seen all over his face,” Keyamo said. This, he alleged, suggested a physical confrontation with the deceased before the drowning.
But a colleague of the deceased, John Francis, told our correspondent that about 10am that fateful day, about four of them were washing one of stands close to the lagoon. He said: “Chris was washing the canopy at the same time pouring water on the nylon. Suddenly, I just heard a sound of something that fell into the water.
I immediately turned to check what could that be, I did not see the deceased again. “I immediately jumped into the lagoon to rescue him because I know how to swim, while two other of my colleagues also dived into the lagoon to save him. “After we searched everywhere and we could not find him, we decided to come out of the lagoon for own personal safety.
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He said: “Two of his colleagues who they were doing the cleaning together, said when he fell, they dived into the lagoon immediately to rescue him but could not trace him.” But Lagos lawyer, Festus Keyamo, said in a petition to the Inspector General of Police on behalf the father of the deceased, Mr Orobosa Onaghise, it was a lady who informed him of the death of his son.
The petition reads in part: “Our client informed us that on 16th June, 2014, that he received a telephone call from a lady who did not identify herself informing him that something tragic had happened to his son, Chris Onaghise, at his workplace. “Our client rushed down to the Lagoon Restaurant. But despite doing his best to get to the restaurant, he could only arrive there after two hours.
Upon arriving at the Lagoon Restaurant, our client was informed that the deceased fell into the lagoon while on duty about 10 O’clock that morning and was still in the lagoon. “When he arrived at the scene of the incident, he demanded to know from the management of the restaurant why no immediate rescue efforts were made to save his son.
“Instead of explanation by the Managing Director of the Lagoon Restaurant, one Mr Rami was said to have informed our client that they had no life jackets, divers nor safety apparatus. “When our client persisted to know why his son was not rescued, rather the Managing Director called a lady on telephone and identified herself as a Police Officer from Bar Beach Police Station in charge of the investigations.”
Keyamo said the policewoman told Onaghise that investigation on the matter had been concluded.’ The father of the deceased, according to him, wondered how the investigation could have been concluded when the body of the deceased was still in the lagoon and none of the witnesses or the management of the Lagoon Restaurant had been questioned.
“For the father of the deceased to get to the root of the matter, he met with the Divisional Police Officer of Bar Beach Police Station where the DPO denied knowledge of the existence of the case and the alleged conclusion of investigation,” the lawyer said.
The DPO was said to have ordered an investigation and invited all the witnesses, including Chaguri. “When the body of the deceased was recovered the following day, bruises and blood stains were seen all over his face,” Keyamo said. This, he alleged, suggested a physical confrontation with the deceased before the drowning.
But a colleague of the deceased, John Francis, told our correspondent that about 10am that fateful day, about four of them were washing one of stands close to the lagoon. He said: “Chris was washing the canopy at the same time pouring water on the nylon. Suddenly, I just heard a sound of something that fell into the water.
I immediately turned to check what could that be, I did not see the deceased again. “I immediately jumped into the lagoon to rescue him because I know how to swim, while two other of my colleagues also dived into the lagoon to save him. “After we searched everywhere and we could not find him, we decided to come out of the lagoon for own personal safety.
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