Segun Onagunwa, a 42-year-old livestock farmer, has drowned inside a well on his farm on Joe Arubiewe Street, Mosan, in the Egbeda area of Lagos, Punch Metro reports.
His body was recovered from the well by the Lagos State Fire Service and handed over to policemen from the Gowon Estate Police Division.
This is just as another middle-aged man, identified only as Hassan, was brought out dead from a well, which he was working on in the Iju area of the state.
According to Punch Metro, it was learnt that Onagunwa, who also had poultry on the farm, had gone to the place with his son on Thursday to feed his chickens, goats and other animals.
One of the goats reportedly broke loose from its tether and fell into the well. In an attempt to rescue the goat, he was said to have used a ladder to get into the well.
An emergency official revealed that Onagunwa drowned in the process, adding that his child could not open the gate of the farm to alert people to the incident.
“He locked the gate from inside and the boy was unable to open the gate. His hand could not reach where the gate was locked. He was crying. It was his mother that eventually came when it was getting late.
“She had called him, but his line rang out. She raised the alarm on getting to the farm in the evening and we were called to the scene. The man had spent a few hours in the well. Unfortunately, he was recovered dead. We had to remove a lot of water before we could locate his corpse in the well,” the source said.
It was gathered that the goat was also recovered dead.
On the Iju incident, the source stated that Hassan’s legs slipped while digging the well and he died from toxic substance he reportedly inhaled in the well.
“His corpse was handed over to the police from the Iju division,” he added.
The Director, Lagos State Fire Service, Rasaq Fadipe, confirmed the two incidents, adding that firefighters from Alausa and Ikeja stations responded to the tragedies.
He said, “A labourer was trying to work on a well. His leg slipped and he fell into the well. He must have died from the ammonia he inhaled. He was brought out dead.
“The other victim (Onagunwa) had a farm in Mosan, which he visited occasionally. He reared animals and had poultry on the farm. A goat accidentally fell into a well on the farm and he went therein to rescue it. He couldn’t rescue the animal; he lost his life as well.”
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Olarinde Famous-Cole also confirmed Onagunwa’s death and promised to get back to our correspondent with comments on the Iju incident.
“It ( Onagunwa’s death) was a case of sudden and unnatural death. The corpse has been removed and deposited at the Mainland General Hospital Mortuary, Yaba, for autopsy,” he added.
