The Ondo State Police Command on Wednesday said an investigation had begun into the death of a seven-year-old girl, whose corpse was recovered from a well in the Shasha area of Akure, the state capital.
It was gathered that the girl, whose loved ones didn’t want her name disclosed, was earlier said to be missing before her body was discovered in the well on Monday, days after she was not seen around.
A friend of the mother of the deceased, Adunni Azeez, told our correspondent that a neighbour was suspected to have been involved in the unfortunate incident.
“The mother’s neighbour has been having grudges with the family. From what we learned, she kidnapped the girl, and her body was later found in the well at Shasha, Akure, along Ondo Road,” Adunni said, upon returning from a condolence visit to the deceased’s family, on Wednesday.
Claims of how the seven-year-old died could not be independently verified as of press time, but Adunni added, “Her body was still fresh as of when it was discovered. The police have taken the corpse to the mortuary and promised to conduct an autopsy. We visited the place today and the family are still mourning.”
Another source in the area said, “The child had been missing for some days. According to talks on the streets, she was thrown into the well after she was killed. She was seven years old.”
Our correspondent contacted the state Police Public Relations Officer, Funmilayo Odunlami, who confirmed that the girl was indeed earlier missing before her body was found inside the well.
