A father of nine, Adekunle Adewusi, yesterday, appeared in an Ebute Meta chief magistrate’s court for allegedly disposing of his child’s remains inside a canal.
The prosecutor, Sergeant Kehinde Omisakin, told the court that the 49-year-old man, who lives at Folorunaho Kuku Street, Opebi, Ikeja, committed the offences on February 7, at about 10p.m.
Omisakin said that the corpse of the four-year-old girl was found inside a canal close to the residence of the accused. According to Omisakin, “the accused, in his statement, claimed that the deceased was pushed onto a sharp object by her playmates and because the wound was not properly treated, it developed into a big issue. “Instead of taking the child to the hospital, he decided to treat her at home, which eventually led to her death.
“Instead of depositing the remains at the mortuary, the accused dumped her body inside a canal close to his residence. The deceased is the sixth child of the accused and he has eight other children.” The offence, he said, contravened Sections 165(a) (b) and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
Adewusi, who is standing trial on a two-count charge for misconduct with regards to a corpse and without lawful justification in disposing a corpse, pleaded not guilty. The magistrate, Mr. A. T. Elias, ordered that the prosecutor bring the other eight children of the accused and his wife to enable him give his ruling on the adjourned date. The magistrate also remanded the accused in police custody and adjourned the case till February 27.