Digger Dies Inside Well

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

A well digger identified as  David  has died at Abule Egba area of Lagos State Southwest Nigeria, inside a well he was digging.

The incident took place at James Iwajomo Street, Olota in Abule Egba area of Lagos.

The residents were thrown into mourning when the body of the well digger, who had a deep cut on his head, was brought out of the well.

P.M.NEWS gathered that David, also nicknamed Oba, had been digging the well since November, 2012.  He is said to have only a daughter and just married another wife last year after his first wife reportedly left him. An eye witness, who craved anonymity, told our reporter that the man fell inside the well when one of the wooden pillars, where he tied the rope he fastened around his waist caved in.

It was learnt that when the digger fell inside the well, the big machine  he was using fell and caused a deep cut on his head. And by the time David was pulled out of the well, he was already dead.

Mr. Tunji Ajayi, who witnessed the incident, narrated that when he heard people shouting and wailing, he went to check what was happening. And when he got to the scene of the incident, he saw  the body of the well digger covered with blanket.

“I decided to remove the blanket to confirm if he was dead and I saw that  he  had a deep cut on his head. The machine was said to have fallen on him inside the well,” he explained.

According to him, Oba was a popular well digger in the area and that he had dug several wells there.

Police officers from Meiran Police Station, led by the Divisional Police Officer, Chioma Ajunwa, came to the scene and took the corpse away.

The corpse was later deposited at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital’s morgue, while work on the well has been suspended.

Meanwhile, the deceased’s colleagues, who were there when the incident happened, were arrested by the police and detained at the station.

P.M.NEWS learnt that they were later released after they allegedly paid the police N40, 000.

It was gathered that family members of the deceased  have told the police not to pursue the case.

When contacted,  Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide, said she was not aware of the incident, but promised to look into the case.