The death of Nigerian musician, Davido and his fiancée, Chioma Rowland‘s son, three-year-old Ifeanyi Adeleke, sent a wave of shock and grief through Nigeria, with a lot of social media users, fans and friends of the family, mourning the little boy, who was well known to many.
Following Ifeanyi’s death, which was said to be as a result of drowning at a time his parents left him with his minders, eight staff of the household were arrested for questioning. Six were however released after interrogation, while two, a chef and Ifeanyi’s nanny are still in custody, for reasons including the failure to uphold the duty of care of the minor.
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 anonymous source close to the family, who confirmed the likelihood of an autopsy, said it was standard practice for the police to conduct an autopsy in such a case, adding, that the Police would, however, not carry on with the practice if the family asked them not to.
He went further to say that the family is yet to make a move as they’re still struggling to process the 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,”.
He described how the incident happened as negligence on the part of Ifeanyi’s nanny. “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.”
The Instagram page created for Ifeanyi on his third birthday and managed by his parents, Davido and Chioma, which garnered over 50 thousand followers, has now been disabled.
Story: Ene Ken-Yawe
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