A 42-year-old livestock farmer, Segun Onagunwa, has drowned inside a well on his farm on Joe Arubiewe Street, Mosan, in the Egbeda area of Lagos.
His body was recovered from the well by the Lagos State Fire Service and handed over to policemen from the Gowon Estate Police Division.
PUNCH Metro reports that Onagunwa, who also had poultry on the farm, had gone to the place with his son on Thursday to feed his chickens, goats and other animals.
One of the goats reportedly broke loose from its tether and fell into the well. In an attempt to rescue the goat, he was said to have used a ladder to get into the well.
Onagunwa drowned in the process, adding that his child could not open the gate of the farm to alert people to the incident.
“He locked the gate from inside and the boy was unable to open the gate. His hand could not reach where the gate was locked. He was crying. It was his mother that eventually came when it was getting late.
“She had called him, but his line rang out. She raised the alarm on getting to the farm in the evening and we were called to the scene.” A source added.
“The man had spent a few hours in the well. Unfortunately, he was recovered dead. We had to remove a lot of water before we could locate his corpse in the well,” the source said.
It was gathered that the goat was also recovered dead.
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Olarinde Famous-Cole also confirmed Onagunwa’s death.
“It was a case of sudden and unnatural death. The corpse has been removed and deposited at the Mainland General Hospital Mortuary, Yaba, for autopsy,” he added.