The members of staff of a
firm, Chinese Group of Companies, Ikeja, Lagos, were thrown into confusion on
September 9, 2012 after the corpses of two of their colleagues, Odion Imhonbhio
and Richard Dada, were found at the bottom of the swimming pool on the
premises.
PUNCH Metro learnt
that Odion and Dada went swimming the previous night around 9pm and were not
seen till the following morning.
It was learnt that the
corpses were immediately recovered and sent to Lagos State University Teaching
Hospital for autopsy.
Although the autopsy
states that the two boys died of asphyxia and drowning, families of the
deceased have cast doubt on the real cause of death.
According to Odion’s
brother, Matthew, the corpse of the 21-year-old man was found inside the swimming
pool, with blood coming out of his ears, nostrils, and mouth.
Matthew said, “My
brother’s corpse didn’t look like that of a drowned person. Something just
looks suspicious because how can two full grown men just drown at the same time
in a pool that is not deep?
“Although my brother is
just a moderate swimmer, I learnt Dada was a very good swimmer and as such
shouldn’t have drowned just like that.
“My brother worked as a
cook in the company for about two years while Dada spent about three years
there.”
Another member of the
family questioned why the company would offer both families the sum of N500,000
each even before investigations were concluded.
When our correspondent
visited LASUTH on Tuesday, family and friends of Odion were seen conveying his coffin
into a vehicle.“Odion was a twin and according to Edo culture, when a twin
dies, he ought to be buried immediately. He’ll be buried at St. Mathias
Catholic Church tomorrow,”
Matthew
said.
Dada’s brother said the
family had hired the services of a lawyer due to the nature of the case.
The lawyer, Mr. Matthew
Onah, faulted the autopsy because members of both families were not present
when the autopsy was carried out.
Onah said, “I find it very
suspicious that two men that have been working in the company for years
suddenly drowned at the same time and they didn’t take in any water after
drowning.
Also, the company’s offer
of N500,000 coupled with policemen at Ikeja station’s refusal to invite any
member of staff for questioning and despite this, the matter was quickly
transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department.
“In addition, no family
member was present at the autopsy. I learnt that the SCID immediately rejected
the case because the case file was said to be not detailed enough.”
When contacted, the
spokesperson for the state police command, Ngozi Braide, confirmed the
incident. She however said our correspondent should call back for more details.
When our correspondent
visited the construction company at 9, Reverend Ogunbiyi Street, GRA, Ikeja,
the security guard refused to allow him in.
“No senior personnel is around
and no one can attend to you please come back later,” he said.