Pascal Arogorn Ibe
What was meant to be a colourful Christmas celebration went awry on Friday after a 14-year- old boy, Samson Akingbade , drowned in a swimming pool of a hotel in Ijako , Sango-Ota , Ogun State .
It was learnt that Akingbade and his friends had gone to the hotel to have fun, playing around the premises .
They were said to have extended the fun to the swimming pool section of the hotel, navigating it with glee .
Our correspondent gathered that he drowned in the process but his friends did not realise in time .
After some hours , his body was said to have floated , resulting in a pandemonium at the facility .
A source told Sunday PUNCH that some angry youths blamed Akingbade ’ s death on poor management on the part of the operators, and attempted to vandalise the hotel .
He said , “ The boy was swimming in the hotel and drowned. As a result of that , some youths stormed the hotel to foment trouble but the police responded promptly to douse the tension and restore normalcy.
“ The boy went to the hotel with his friends . The problem is that the hotel does not have a lifeguard . It was an avoidable death if they had a lifeguard . ”
Another source explained that the hotel was abruptly shut down to avert a riot, adding that the boy ’ s corpse was evacuated by the police from Sango Division.
He stated , “ I learnt that the boy and his friends came from Sango but I don’ t know their address. It was police intervention that doused the tension. Youths were angry that the hotel failed to provide a lifeguard who could have observed that the boy had drowned and rescued him . ”
The police spokesperson in the state, SP Abimbola Oyeyemi , confirmed Akingbade ’ s death , adding that his corpse had been deposited in a mortuary for autopsy .
He said , “ One Samson Akingbade , 14, was at the hotel with his friends . They were swimming when he drowned. Some boys wanted to attack the hotel but the police quickly took over the situation and restored normalcy.
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