Graduate slips into gutter, drowns after downpour in Lagos (Photo)

A graduate of Business Administration, Ire Polytechnic, Osun State, Yinka Talabi, has drowned after he slipped into a gutter on Ikotun road, Ikotun area of Lagos.

He had on Friday afternoon gone to a branch of First Bank of Nigeria Plc, to withdraw some money.

The victim, who was married with children, was said to be returning home when there was a downpour which flooded the road.

As the victim attempted to jump over a gutter, one of his legs was said to have been trapped.

Punch reports that efforts to save him were abortive, adding that the 38-year-old did not struggle with the surge.

His remains were said to have been recovered in a swamp on Odediran Street on Sunday morning.

A bundle of naira notes and a teller were reportedly found on him.

A trader, Jane Nwosu, who claimed to have witnessed the incident, said it happened around 1pm.

She said, 

“The man had just come out of the bank and he was about to cross the gutter when his feet slipped. People tried to rescue him but his head was stuck in the drainage.

“He appeared weak and did not struggle to save himself. The flood swept him through the drainage and everybody was helpless.”

A friend of the victim, who identified himself as Korede, said Talabi had been sick and had been admitted to a private hospital before he was discharged on Friday.

A relative, Ibikunle Oguntamu, said the family did not know he had been swept away by flood.

He said after Talabi did not return home on Friday evening, they became apprehensive, adding that they reported a case of missing person to the police.

“Yinka (Talabi) did not drink or womanise and he never kept late at night. When we did not see him and his phone was not reachable, we reported at the Ikotun Police Division.

“We later learnt he was swept away by water and we searched everywhere without any success. On Sunday morning, his corpse floated in a swamp behind Muslim College, Ikotun.”

PUNCH Metro gathered that it was not the first time a person would drown in the community due to the blockage of the drainage.

A tricycle operator, who did not identify himself, said some residents were fond of dumping refuse into the drainage.

“Some time ago, around Governor’s Road, a student was similarly swept away by flood. A vulcaniser, who tried to save him, was also swept away.

“We were able to remove the boy and take him to the hospital where the dirty water was evacuated from his stomach, but the vulcaniser died.”

The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Joe Offor, confirmed the incident.

He said, 

“The man got drowned on Sunday. He had been sick for some time and he was in his house when one of his work mates called him that their salary had been paid he should come and collect his share.