FOUR students of Kuramo Senior College, Lekki, who were celebrating the completion of their exams, have drowned in Elegushi Beach, also in the Lekki area of Lagos State.
The incident occurred on Tuesday, when ten secondary school leavers, aged 14 to 15 years, went to the beach to celebrate the completion of their West African Senior School Examination (WASSCE).
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Ayuba Elegushi, Spokesperson for the Elegushi Beach Management, said in a statement on Tuesday that the pupils were not duly registered to use the beach.
According to him, the incident occurred at the unmanned section of the beach, which is not open to the public.
He said, “We initially sent them away from the area of the beach they wanted to swim in. Then, they went to another place that was not for the public at all. It was the child of our kinsman, Abass, who took them from school to the beach and those kids followed him.
“They did not pay any gate fee to access the beach. Abass used the leverage that he was one of us to take them through another place.”
The victims were said to have raised an alarm as the water swept them away.
The management of the beach added that some lifeguards plunged into the water and were able to save six of the pupils.
“Out of the six that were rescued, some escaped by the time we got there. We were able to arrest two of them and we took them to the Jakande Police Station.
“As of now, there are still four missing as our seamen have not been able to bring them out of the water. We have informed their parents and they have come to the police station.
“Abass is one of the missing kids. There is another boy we have not identified and two other girls,” he added.
The spokesperson said the two boys that were arrested told the police that they were sent away from the beach before they eventually sneaked into the restricted section to swim.
He said, “They wrote in their statements that they were chased from the first section they went to. Abass told them that they should not worry and he would take them to another part of the beach. He took them to another end of the beach where no one could see them.”
Benjamin Hundeyin, Lagos state Police Public Relations Officer confirmed the incident, adding that investigation was ongoing.
“The teenagers were from Kuramo Senior College, Lekki. Four of them are missing. They are two males and two females. Efforts are on to recover their bodies. We have yet to meet with the parents of the victims,” the police spokesperson said.
Omolola Pedro is a Reporter/ Fact-Checker at The International Centre for Investigative Reporting. She believes in a society that is fair to all. She has deep interest in Gender Equality, Social Justice, and protection of human rights.
You can reach out to her via mail opedro@icirnigeria.org, Twitter:@pedro_omolola