Father of 9 allegedly throws daughter’s corpse inside canal

A man, Adekunle Adewusi, was on Tuesday arraigned before an Ebute Meta Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos State for allegedly disposing of his child’s remains in a canal.

Adewusi, a father of nine, who resided at 25, Folorunsho Kuku Street, Opebi, Ikeja, committed the offence on February 7 at about 10:00p.m.

The corpse of the four-year-old girl was found inside a canal close to the residence of the accused.

“The accused in his statement claimed that the deceased was pushed on a sharp object by her playmates and because the wound was not properly treated, it developed into a big issue.

“Instead of taking the child to the hospital, he decided to do a home remedy which eventually led to her death.

“And instead of depositing the remains at the mortuary, the accused dumped her body in a canal close to his residence.

“The deceased was the sixth child of the accused, with eight other siblings,” she said.

The offence contravened sections 165(a) (b) and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

Adewusi, who was standing trial on a two-count charge of misconduct with regard to a corpse and without lawful justification in disposing of a corpse, pleaded not guilty.

The Magistrate, Mr A.T. Elias, ordered the prosecutor to bring the other eight children of the accused and his wife so as to enable him to give his ruling on the adjourned date.

The magistrate also remanded the accused in police custody and adjourned the case till February 27.