A woman, identified simply as Omowumi, resident of Anjoorin Street, Koledowo community, Osogbo, Osun State, has been arrested by the police following allegations that she threw her two daughters into a well.
Efforts by residents, as well as officials of the Osun State Fire Service, on Tuesday, to recover the bodies were futile.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the suspect recently returned to Nigeria from a country in the Middle-East.
A shop owner in the area, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the children were thrown into the well on Monday night.
He said: “The incident happened late on Monday but many people did not hear about it till this afternoon (Tuesday) when men of the Osun State Fire Service arrived to recover the bodies.
“The woman was accused of throwing her two daughters into the well. The suspect was also with us at the scene, as the firemen tried to recover the bodies. But they could not and they left. Policemen later took the suspect away.”
A spokesperson for the Osun State Fire Service, Ibrahim Adekunle, said operatives deployed to the scene could not recover the bodies because of the volume of water in the well.
“The mother, a middle-aged woman, accused of throwing her two children into the well, was reported to be suffering from insanity. The children were identified as Nimisire Saka, 5, and Darasimi Saka, 8.
“Efforts are underway to get them out. But at the moment, we have yet to recover them as the well is filled to the brim.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Yemisi Opalola, said the suspect had been arrested.
Speaking incoherently, Omowumi revealed that she discovered that the destinies of her daughters have been tampered with when she was away from home, a development that led to her tossing them into the well.