Deji Lambo
The death of three-year-old Ifeanyi Adeleke, son of popular musician, Davido, elicited widespread grief and attracted messages of commiseration from all strata of Nigerians, writes DEJI LAMBO
There are indications that the police might conduct an autopsy to determine whether Ifeanyi Adeleke, son of popular music artiste, Davido, and his fiancée, Chioma Rowland, died as a result of drowning in a swimming pool at his father’s residence in the Banana Island area of Lagos State.
An impeccable source, who confirmed the development, said it was standard practice for the police to conduct an autopsy in such a case, adding, however, that the police would desist from the move if the deceased family members were against it.
“Though the family members are not saying anything yet because they are still in shock but until anybody says stop, the standard procedure is to conduct an autopsy and we are going to follow that procedure just like in any case of death,” the source said.
Explaining further, the source said out of the eight domestic workers interrogated by the police in connection with Ifeanyi’s death, the cook and nanny, whose job was to cater to the wellbeing of the three-year-old boy, had been detained for reasons including the failure to uphold the duty of care of the minor.
The source said, “It was the work of the nanny to take care of the child (Ifeanyi); the nanny was negligent or how could the boy have left the house without her knowledge?
“The boy left the house, walked to the back where the swimming pool is situated, and fell into the swimming pool. Nobody noticed until much later. At that point in time, he had drowned and was at the bottom of the swimming pool.
“So, they brought him out and rushed him to the Lagoon Hospital, where the doctors tried unsuccessfully to revive him. They left the hospital and rushed the boy to Evercare Hospital, where he was declared dead.
“They have deposited his corpse in the mortuary for an autopsy to reveal the cause of death. All the domestic workers at home when the incident happened have been questioned by the police but only the nanny and cook were detained.”
Confirming the detention of the two domestic workers, the spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, when contacted, said, “I spoke with the DPO and he said the nanny and the cook have been detained. Other domestic workers brought in for questioning were released.”
Possible CCTV review
However, a former Commissioner of Police in Ogun State, Edward Ajogun, said closed-circuit television could help in throwing more light on the events that led to Ifeanyi’s death.
He said, “Going by the personality of Davido, one should expect that all of these security gadgets are already on the ground. Someone living at Banana Island will surely have all these security gadgets installed.
“CCTV is like a third eye; it is a technology built to put an environment under surveillance. It is built to serve the purposes of prevention and detection of crime.
“As a crime detection technology, where crime has happened, the CCTV will assist in giving an insight into how that particular crime happened and making it easier to determine who perpetrated that crime.”
Contacted for a follow-up reaction regarding the impact CCTV could play in the ongoing investigation to unravel the circumstances surrounding Ifeanyi’s death at Davido’s residence, Hundeyin said, “CCTV will be reviewed if we find any installed at his house.”
The PUNCH learnt that the news of Ifeanyi’s death, which broke late Monday, threw the family members into mourning.
Celebrities, politicians, fans and sympathisers, who were traumatised by the tragic development, condoled with Davido and Chioma, who had been inconsolable since the events that led to the death of their son became public knowledge.
Additional reports by Segun Adewole, Babatunde Titilola, Sodiq Ojuroungbe, Olamide Famuwagun and Bola Bamigbola
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