Family grieves over death of woman swept away by flooding

A long search for a sexagenarian by her relatives and security operatives ended in lamentation recently. She was found dead four days after the flooding that trailed last Monday’s downpour in Ibadan, reports AKINWALE ABOLUWADE.

For four days, her whereabouts were shrouded in mystery. Friends and family members remained in confusion over the fate of the old woman who was loved by most of her neighbours as well as her co-traders in the market. Alhaja Nusirat Adeyinka Adepoju, a trader at Aleshinloye Market, Ibadan had been missing since the evening of Monday, September 30 and efforts to locate her or to unravel the mystery surrounding her disappearance had failed.

Clouds of anguish later settled on Gbaremu, Idi-Obi community of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, in the early hours of Thursday, October 3, when a report confirmed that the woman was found dead along the flood plane in a remote part of the city.

The four days of search for the deceased were, indeed, the most trying period for her friends and family members as it became tortuous and challenging to pacify her husband, Alhaji Tajudeen and Funke, her daughter.

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The 60-year-old woman was declared missing in the evening of Monday, September 30 after the downpour. Hammed, her son and another family member, who spoke to Saturday Tribune on Wednesday, expressed apprehension about the state in which the missing woman might be, saying that they were unsure whether she was still alive or not. “But it was expedient for us to unravel the fact about her state because it was difficult for us to determine what had happened to her really,” her son had earlier said.

Apart from launching a search party to comb different parts of the city, it was learnt that her family members had reported the case at the Agugu Police Station, Ibadan. The family had expressed frustrations about several failed attempts to reach her on the telephone.

Hammed and other members of the family explained that they had visited accident and emergency wards of hospitals in Ibadan and the adjoining communities. They had also searched for her body at the hospital mortuaries to find out whether she was injured or dead to no avail between Monday and Wednesday.

Alhaja Adepoju, a slim, six feet tall, light complexioned woman had no inkling of the cruel fate that awaited her when she left her Gbaremu, Idi-Obi residence for her shop at Aleshinloye Market on Monday morning. A family member said that a source had earlier confirmed to them that she was last seen on her way home around 9:00pm at Gbaremu, Oremeji area of the city.

Speaking about the circumstances that led to her disappearance, Hammed said: “My mother is living with my father. She is a trader and on that fateful day, she had left for Aleshinloye Market where she sells her wares in the morning. She was on her way from shop and we learnt that while she was just a few metres away from home she could not proceed because it was raining heavily. Later, we learnt that she left the place where she waited to take shelter after the rain. But, on getting to a bridge in the neighbourhood, she discovered that it had been taken over by flood.

“From that point, she called her husband on the telephone to intimate him of the development. That was the last time she was heard of; that was her last conversation with anyone. We gathered that she eventually left the house where she took shelter in company with a few other people. They were to cross the bridge afoot. Unfortunately, that was the last we heard.

“After the rain, the husband came out immediately to look for her but she was nowhere to be found. Thereafter, calls placed to her phone rang repeatedly up till 11:00pm but there was no response. The phone later stopped ringing.”

He said that they became very apprehensive as they had no clue regarding her whereabouts and got no call from anyone three days after.

The woman, who was said to be donning a buba and wrapper with an hijab round her head and neck while leaving home in the morning was found at the bank of a canal four days after. A family member said: “Search parties were organised around the flood planes in different parts of the city. We searched for her from Gbaremu where the incident happened up to Musfala and Muslim areas but the efforts were to no avail. There was no trace of her until early hour of Thursday.”

When contacted, the Public Relations Officer, Oyo State police command, Mr Olugbenga Fadeyi, said that the police swung into action immediately the family members reported that the woman was missing at the Agugu Police Division on Tuesday. He explained that from their statement, it was likely that she drowned.

He said: “The family members reported at Agugu Division that it was likely she was drowned in the heavy rain on Monday. Her body was missing.”

Meanwhile, a woman who claimed that she also nearly drowned in the flood on the fateful day confirmed to the family of the deceased that one woman drowned on Monday night but a family member said: “Until we eventually found her body, there was no tangible evidence to support the claim. Anything else could have happened to her.”

Residents of the area, while lamenting the tragic incidence, expressed concern on the state of the bridge. In order to avert a repeat of the tragedy, they urged the state government to ensure the immediate repair of the collapsed bridge saying prompt action was necessary.

The deceased’s husband, who described his wife as an easygoing, law abiding and friendly woman whom would be sorely missed by family members and the entire Gbaremu, Idi-Obi community, said: “My advice is for government to rise up to its responsibilities by providing and maintaining social infrastructure. We cannot continue to lose valuable human resources due to the failure of government.

“Successive governments have been foot-dragging on the issue. Enough is enough. There are quite a number of dilapidated bridges across the state and the need for a holistic approach to tackle the menace statewide cannot be over-emphasised. The people should be more careful and circumspect when using bridges especially on foot.  Even motorists need to be wary of crossing those death traps called bridges.

“There is also the corruption angle to the issue. I recently gathered that from government records, rehabilitation had been concluded on that particular bridge. The claim needs be investigated and anybody found culpable should be prosecuted.”

It will be recalled that the Nigerian Metrological Agency (NIMET) had warned the citizens of the impending rainstorm and flooding disaster across some states of the federation. The agency had cautioned that those living close to flood prone areas should relocate temporarily in order to forestall loss of lives and property.

While many people attributed the collapse of the bridge to unforeseen natural disaster that characterise rainstorm others noted that the bridge may have collapsed as a result of poor maintenance of infrastructure. A resident of Ibadan, who gave his name as Lateef Karimu, stressed the need for government to channel water courses by constructing concrete drainages at flood plains and by inspecting old bridges to ascertain their functionality.

“While most of the bridges are old and due for maintenance, some are too poorly constructed to withstand the pressure of flooding. The state ministries of environment   and physical planning and the maintenance departments of local government councils should be alive to their responsibilities. The bridge that collapsed at Gbaremu Idi-Obi, the Ureje Bridge in Ekiti State and many more that we did not hear of had caused untold havoc and such a thing should not be allowed to persist,” Karimu said.