"I threw my 4 year old daughter's corpse into a canal because I had no money to bury her"- Man tells court

A 49-year-old father of nine, Adekunle Adewusi, told the Magistrate Court in Ebutte Meta, Lagos, that he disposed the corpse of his 4 year old daughter, Rachael, in a canal close to his home at Folorunsho Kuku Street, Opebi, Ikeja because he could not afford to pay mortuary bill and also because he couldn't buy a land to bury her in.

According to police prosecutor, Kehinde Omisakin, who arraigned the suspect before the court, Adekunle and his wife who is currently at large, carried out the unjust act on February 9th.

While testifying in court, Mr Adewusi said his daughter had returned home to inform them that while she was playing, she fell after one of her friends pushed her on the ground. They took her to a Pharmacist who advised that they take her to the hospital. Lack of money forced them to take her home. Her condition detoriorated and she died later in the night.

“I wasn’t aware she fell. She was telling me and the mother that the place where she goes to play, a girl called her by her name Rachael, pushed her into the canal and she hit her stomach on a sharp object. We carried her to a nurse who advised us to take her to a General hospital but because there was no money I bought her blood tonic syrup. She is my sixth child and we don’t have any picture of her. When she died there was no money to take her to the mortuary and there was no money to buy land and bury her. So that’s why my wife and I decided to put her corpse into a sack bag and kept her body beside the canal where we lived. Which we later throw her inside the canal at Monkey Village Opebi, Ikeja Lagos.” According to the police prosecutor, Adewusi's offence contravened sections 411 and 165 (a) (b) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015. The Magistrate, T.A Elias, thereafter ordered he be remanded at the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti. The case has been adjourned till February 27th.