The police command in Ogun has confirmed that a young man identified as Sunday Ogah drowned in Eyinwa River in Odogbolu Local Government Area of Ogun state, where he had gone to swim.
A spokesperson for the command, SP Omolola Odutola, said in a statement on Sunday that the incident happened on Saturday.
Ms Odutola said that police operatives and local divers had already begun combing the river shores for the drowned man’s corpse.
She explained that Mr Ogah, an Igede man from Benue State but resident in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State, had followed his friend, Otusanya Abayomi of Igbe Ilara, Ikorodu, Lagos State, to the Eyinwa community in Odogbolu.
She noted that while their brief stay lasted, Mr Ogah was said to have left for the river without notifying his friend and got drowned.
“It was a disheartening afternoon for the people of Eyinwa Community in Odogbolu Local Government Area, where one Otusanya Abayomi of Igbe Ilara Ikorodu, Lagos State, reported the incident at Odogbolu Divisional Police Station.
“He reported that at about noon on Saturday, he came with his friend, one Sunday Ogah, an Igede man from Benue state to his community.
“He stated further that his deceased friend left him and others to an unknown destination without notifying anyone.
“Information later got to him that the said Sunday Ogah had gone swimming at Eyinwa River, where he got drowned,” she said.
Ms Odutola stated that upon receipt of the information, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) Odogbolu detailed surveillance officers in collaboration with local divers to locate the corpse, but their efforts proved abortive.
She said that efforts were still ongoing to recover the corpse and further reach out to the family to inform them of the sad occurrence.
The spokesperson reported the Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alamutu, to have warned restive young people to steer clear of rivers whose depth they could not predict.
Mr Alamutu assured that the command remained committed to promoting public safety and preventing such tragedies in the future.
(NAN)