The Eyinwa community was in chaos on Saturday after a man from Benue State named Sunday Ogah drowned in the Eyinwa River in the Odogbolu Local Government Area of Ogun State.
Ogah, who was visiting the community with his friend Otusanya Abayomi, went to the river for fun without informing his friend.
The Ogun State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, Omolola Odutola, confirmed the incident and stated that efforts were being made to recover Ogah’s body and notify his family.
She said, “It was a disheartening afternoon for people of Eyinwa Community in Odogbolu Local Government Area of Ogun State, where one Otusanya Abayomi’m’ of Igbe Ilara Ikorodu, Lagos State, reported at Odogbolu Divisional Police Station that at about 1200 hrs today, March 30, 2024, he came with his friend, one Sunday, Ogah’m’, an Igede man from Benue State, to his community.
“He stated further that his friend left him and others at an unknown destination without notifying anyone. Information later got to him that the said Sunday Ogah’m’ had gone to swim at the Eyinwa River, where he got drowned.
“Upon the receipt of the information, the DPO Odogbolu detailed surveillance police officers in collaboration with some local divers to locate the corpse, but their efforts proved abortive.”
The authorities also cautioned people looking for fun, tourists, and residents to avoid swimming in rivers with unpredictable depths in the state.
“The Commissioner of Police, Ogun State Police Command, CP Alamutu Abiodun, while extending his deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased during this difficult time, assured that the Command remains committed to promoting public safety and preventing such tragedies in the future,” Odutola added via WhatsApp message.
This is not the first time that visitors and fun-seekers have drowned in a river in Ogun State.
In August 2023, two fun-seekers from Lagos State drowned in a river in Itori, Ewekoro Local Government Area, while swimming after attending a church event in the town.
The victims, Femi Akinola, 32, and Tunde Falade, 35, were reportedly swept away by a strong tidal wave.
