Eight children, who allegedly locked themselves up in an abandoned car in the Badagry area of Lagos, have been found dead.
It was gathered that the children were said to have gone missing on Saturday fare returning from an Islamic school in Ja Michael area on the Badagry Expressway.
They were all found locked up and dead inside a vehicle parked in front of a house in the precincts of the area.
It was further learnt that four of the children were from the same parents.
The bodies of the children were found at Adelayo Street, Ja Michael area by a search team which was raised by the Hausa community in the area.
“The eight children went to the Arabic school on Saturday and when it was time for them to return and their parents did not see them, they raised an alarm.
“They (parents) went to their Arabic school and their teacher confirmed that they were there in the morning and that they had left after class.
“Many people later joined them in searching for the children on Saturday. They searched everywhere, including the homes of their relatives and could not find them.
“Surprisingly, this morning (Sunday), somebody raised the alarm that some children were found sleeping in a vehicle parked in front of a house in the area.
“By the time the residents moved to where the vehicle was parked and forced it open, the children were all dead,” a resident of the area told the Nigerian Tribune in an interview.
The Lagos state police command confirmed the incident and claimed that the children might have unknowingly locked themselves up in the vehicle while playing.
Spokesman for the command, Mr. Adekunle Ajisebutu said: “The eight children were said to have mistakenly locked themselves in an abandoned car while playing.
“Their bodies have been recovered and deposited at the Badagry General Hospital’s morgue for autopsy so as to determine the actual cause of death.” Ajisebutu said.
“Notwithstanding the report made to the police’, he added, “the commissioner of police, Hakeem Odumosu, has ordered thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding their death.”
