According to the report, the incident occurred after Chidera and some of his classmates slipped into the pool while playing near the edge.
While verifying the incident, his father, Anthony, stated that the teachers, caregivers, and lifeguards were unaware that his son had fallen into the pool until he drowned.
“On Monday morning, I dropped my children off at the Redeemers Nursery and Primary School on Acme Road, Ogba, and went to work,” he said.
“I received a call from their head teacher, Mrs Adeola Oladipo, at 10.52 a.m., informing me that my son had been involved in an accident and had been rushed to the Ikeja Medical Centre.”
“I dashed down there, but all I saw was my son’s lifeless body.” When I asked the principal what had happened, she said she had no idea.
“When I asked what happened, the doctor said he was brought in dead. When I asked the club’s teachers, caregivers, and workers what had happened, they had no explanation.
“My wife came in while I was crying; I was trying to manage the information, but the head teacher had also informed her, and as she ran into the hospital, I was completely confused.”
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“I went to Area F police station, and we went to the club after the officers took pictures of my son’s body.”
“When we arrived, we discovered that they had taken the students to the adult swimming pool section.”
“I was alarmed, and while the cops were investigating, we discovered that the club had CCTV installed.” As a result, we demanded that the CCTV footage be examined, and it revealed everything.”
Anthony claimed that the footage revealed that his son was in the pool for more than 30 minutes before he died, and that his son’s body was discovered by another swimmer.
“We saw in the footage that the school brought over 15 children, took them to the adult side of the swimming pool, and forced them to sit at the tip with their legs in the water and without any protective equipment,” he said.
“On the video, we only saw one caregiver, and she was just going in and out, leaving the kids alone.”
“When my son slipped into the pool for the first time, he was at the back of the line, but he was able to pull himself out.”
“However, the second time he fell into the water, he couldn’t get out.”
“All of this occurred, and none of the teachers, caregivers, or lifeguards were aware of what was going on.”
“My son was submerged for more than 30 minutes, and we were all screaming while watching the video.”
“Another student fell into the water, but her classmates raised the alarm and pulled her out, and nobody noticed my son was in the water during this time.”
“My son died as a result of the carelessness of those who were supposed to look after him.
“I want justice to prevent something like this from happening again.”
“The caregivers, lifeguards, school administration, and the Ivory Health Club must be held accountable. He continued, “My son’s body has been deposited in the morgue.”
Benjamin Hundeyin, the state police public relations officer, stated that some members of the school and club staff had been arrested.
“A full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the boy’s drowning is ongoing,” he added.
