Rachael Oyeniyi, 2, drowned in a well a day after her father, Gbenga, a lecturer at the Lagos State University (LASU), went to Abeokuta, Ogun State, to forcibly take her from her mother, Adenike, because she refused to move down to Lagos to stay with him.
A row has now broken out after Racheal allegedly died in a well at his home at 8, Jessa Street, Egbeda, last Tuesday. Adenike is alleging foul play. She said, “I am a civil servant and I live in Abeokuta, while my husband stays in Lagos. But every weekend, I travel to Lagos to meet him.
We have two children – Rachael and Emmanuel. The only issue between us was that he wanted her to school in Lagos, but I refused because I thought she needed me around her for monitoring. In September, 2015, I took her to a school where she started attending kindergarten.
I was the one paying her school fees. On Monday, April 18, 2016, around 9am, he came to forcibly take her away. I came to Lagos to report the but the police chased me out of the station. I went to his house to carry the child, he refused.” The girl died the following day.
Her aunt, Romoke, said, “We were together, but she went to play with other children. She was jumping on the cover of the well and before I knew what was happening, I didn’t see her again.” Adenike said: “They said she drowned in a well, how could a 2-year-old climb a well?
My child was crying that she wanted to follow me, but he refused. Now she is dead. It is really painful. She was buried in Atan cemetery. Two of my family members at the burial ground told me they didn’t dig up to six feet.
I think they want to exhume my daughter’s body. I want police officers to help me unravel the truth. Our marriage will be four years in July. I really miss my baby. I can still hear her cry in my head when she wanted to follow me on that day.” Cc: Punchng, The Nation