Adewura Lateefat Bello
Her corpse was said to have been found at a canal in Abule Odu in Alimosho local government area of Lagos.
When Adewura Lateefat Bello left her place of work in Ikeja, Lagos,
on May 15, she never knew that she would neither get home safely nor
return there the next day but fate dealt a crushing blow on her, leaving
her siblings and those who knew the young, beautiful, smart and
reserved lady with memories.
It was a rainy day and the rain came with flood. The 26-year-old
chartered accountant was rushing home to break the Ramadan fast with her
family but just less than five minutes to her destination, she went
into the journey of no return and the rest, as they say, is history.
HER LAST CONVERSATION
Around 7pm on that day, she told her sister, Fadesola, on phone,
that she was around Cement bus stop, a distance of two kilometers from
Gowon estate, Egbeda where her family lived. When she didn’t show up on
time, Fadesola called her again; the phone rang but she did not pick.
Fadesola might have assumed that it was because of the rain but when the
day slipped into midnight, it dawned on the family that something was
amiss but they probably didn’t know the depth of the situation. The
search commenced immediately. After several hours of fruitless search,
family and friends took to the social media to declare her missing,
appealing to those who had information on her whereabouts to reach out
but that also did not help in bringing her back.
Her corpse was said to have been found at a canal in Abule Odu in
Alimosho local government area of Lagos. She was reportedly recognised
thorugh the shirt she wore last and a birthmark as her face had been
badly damaged.
On Sunday, Benjamin, Bello’s cousin, took to Twitter to announce that her body had been found in a canal.
“Thank you all for the search. Adewura is Dead. Her Body found
in a canal. Heaven has gained an angel. We depart to meet again till we
Meet again Adewura. Forever in our Heart. God, I am in pains but who am I
the question you. Rip,” he tweeted.
‘WE WARNED THE MOTORCYCLE RIDER’
The manhole where Bello was believed to have slipped into. This metal fence wasn’t there when she fell.
When TheCable visited the scene of the incident opposite Shagari
estate, Ipaja, on Monday, the manhole was still open but had been guided
with an iron fence. Residents had rallied round to prevent a recurrence
of tragedy in the area.
According to witnesses, the victim had boarded a motorcycle behind
the estate to take her home. As usual, the rain had wrecked havoc and
flooded the street few meters away from a popular fast food restaurant.
The motorcycle rider was warned not to pass through a flooded area, but
he ignored the warning.
Bello was cut down in her prime
While meandering his way through the flowing water, the motorcycle
tripped and fell. He was able to save himself and the motorcycle but
Bello, however, was unlucky. The flood swept her away into the manhole
that leads to a bigger canal.
“We warned the rider not to pass through the flood but he didn’t listen to us,” a mechanic, who didn’t want his identity disclosed, told TheCable.
“He rode near the manhole saying he could make his way through
the flood to the other side. But he fell and he struggled for himself
and the motorcycles. The lady was washed inside the hole. We couldn’t
save her because the flood was massive.
“The driver was taken to Mosalasi police station and detained but he was later released.
The manhole that leads to a bigger canal
“Anytime it rains, this whole place is usually covered up with
high volume of water and it extends to the third street after Havana
hotel. All the water from Shagari Estate, Mosan and other places around
were diverted here. That’s why the whole street is bad. We always warn
people not to pass there any time there’s flood.”
When asked why the manhole wasn’t covered, he said: “We had to
open it anytime it rains so that the flood can pass through to the
canal. If not, this place will become an ocean and destroy our
properties. When we cover it, scavengers will remove it at night to sell
to scrap dealers. So, it’s always open.”
An elderly man, who simply identified himself as Baba Segun, said
the incident was unfortunate and avoidable. “Even as the manhole looks
small, the canal is very big. Once my dog fell inside, I went inside and
realised I was walking as though in subway. I think the canal
terminates at a central sewage in Gemade estate.”
He added that after the flood subsided the next day, residents
engaged two men to go inside the canal in search of Bello but they
couldn’t get her.
The street/location where it happened
“After the incident, we had to contribute money around here to put a
metal fence around the manhole since we never can tell who the next
victim could be, as we are in the raining season. Since we work here, we
contribute money every year to buy truckloads of sand to fill the
street to make it accessible for vehicles,” he said.
No policeman at Mosalasi police station was willing to speak. They
insisted that only Bala Elkana, spokesman of the Lagos state police
command, could comment on the issue. TheCable had demanded update on the
the motorcycle rider who was arrested in connection with the incident.
Elkana did not answer calls and is yet to reply text messages sent to
him since Monday evening.
A SMART AND DEVOUT MUSLIM
Speaking with TheCable, Deolu Akinsanya, a school administrator who
knew certain things about the deceased, described Bello, who hailed
from Lagos Island, as a brilliant lady and a devout Muslim.
“I met her October 2018 when we both sat for an international
English exam. She sat beside me. We have been friends since then and I
call her at least once in two weeks,” Akinsanya said.
“She was based in Kigali, Rwanda where she worked with Deloitte
before coming back to Nigeria. She’s special, kindhearted, gentle,
smart and very down to earth. Also a devout Muslim.”
According to him, Adewura was born on March 3, 1993, second of
three children and graduated from the department of accounting,
University of Lagos (UNILAG) in 2013. He said she lost her father just
six months ago.
When contacted, an elder brother of the deceased declined to
comment on the matter. There are reports that Bello was buried at Markaz
cemetery in the Agege area of the state on Monday but TheCable cannot
independently verify this.
The death of Bello has sparked a debate among Nigerians while some
blame government not living up to its responsibilities, others
attributed the tragic incident to the carelessness of residents.
TheCable launched a campaign for her on Monday and many have been
pouring out their minds.
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