Three children of same parents were on Tuesday found dead inside a car belonging to their landlord in the Imota area of Ikorodu, Lagos State.
The deceased identified as: Lazarus, 8, Marvelous, 5, and Uche 3, all children of one Mr. Osondu were found dead hours after they were last seen playing in the compound.
It was gathered that the children, while playing, entered the a Toyota RAV 4 car, and mistakenly press the central lock button, thereby getting trapped inside.
The landlord, who was identified as Moses, was alleged to have left his vehicle unlocked before going into his apartment.
The children were reportedly playing with their cousin identified as Blessing, 11, a foster daughter to the deceased father. Around 11am on Tuesday, inside the compound before they entered the landlord’s RAV4 SUV.
Nobody could say why Blessing, the most senior did not enter the car and also failed to raise an alarm when she discovered that her cousins were trapped inside the car.
Some said it might have been for fear of being beaten for venturing into the area.
“The vehicle was parked in a fenced and gated compound, before one of them unconsciously pressed the central lock button of the vehicle and it ended up locking all of them. They were discovered dead inside the car,” the witness said.
An irate mob descended on the landlord and beat him before he was rescued by some policemen on patrol duty.
Police spokesman, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the incident.
Hundeyin said the Officer in Charge (O/C) Police Family Support Unit (FSU), around 7.40pm on Tuesday, got a distress call from an anonymous callers of a suspected Sudden and Unnatural Death (SUD)/Suffocation of under-age children.
He said Patrol team and FSU personnel swiftly moved to the scene, where they met a huge crowd that besieged the residence of Moses, in Ikorodu.
“The father of the deceased children said he is from Izii community in Ebonyi State and tenant at the aforementioned address. The children were playing with their cousin, one Blessing Hyacinth, a girl of about 11 years, a foster daughter to Mr. Osondu at about 11am inside the landlord’s RAV4 SUV parked in a fenced and gated compound.
“One of them inadvertently pressed the central lock button of the vehicle and it ended up locking the trio till they got suffocated. The three children were taken to IKorodu General Hospital, where they were confirmed dead by medics and their corpses deposited at the same hospital’s mortuary for autopsy in the presence of their father.
“The landlord was brought to the station for protective custody and the RAV4 SUV recovered to the station for safekeeping. Meanwhile, Patrol team led by operations Officer has been deployed to the neighbourhood to ensure that there is no breakdown of law and order,” he added.