Dr. Michael Adeyemi Adeniran on Sunday alleged that his late 12-year-old daughter, Whitney Adeniran died of electric shock during Chrisland school inter-house sports in Lagos state.
The Quest Times had reported that 12-year-old Whitney died during the school’s inter-house sports competition at Agege Stadium in Lagos, on Thursday.
According to the father of the deceased, Dr. Adeniran, she had no health condition or sickness as of the time the school bus picked her up for the event.
Adeniran who said her daughter’s lips and tongue were black within an hour, alleged that when he started asking questions about the cause of his daughter’s death, the school asked him to back down from the autopsy.
However, speaking with BBC pidgin on Sunday, Dr. Adeniran said his daughter died from naked wire from one cotton candy vendor machine after having contact with it at the stadium.
According to him, she was electrocuted immediately she leaned on it.
“My daughter died from naked wire from one cotton candy vendor machine which she made contact with.
“She was electrocuted immediately she leaned on it. They allegedly poured water on her which killed her immediately.
“My daughter’s school mate disclosed the information to the family through the school snap chat that my daughter belongs to,” he added.
A recorded audio also surfaced on social media to collaborate the deceased father’s claim on his daughter being electrocuted.
In an audio obtained by The Quest Times, the voice of a female student can be heard saying Whitney was electrocuted.
She said; “There are many machines at the stadium such as cotton candy, popcorn machine and many more. Whitney always buys popcorn, so she went there and was very excited about the Inter-house sports.
“Whitney’s hands were wet and mistakenly touched one of the machine parts. She now got electrocuted and fainted. Her mouth was foaming and her veins were popping, her tongue disappeared. They poured water on her, took her to the back before taking her to hospital,” the voice added.
The management of Chrisland schools earlier gave its account of the incident that led to the death of one of its students, Whitney Adeniran.
The management and staff of the Lagos-based school who said they feel the deep pain of Whitney’s death, noted that Whitney slumped in public view and not under “hidden circumstances”.
The statement partly reads: “The management and staff of Chrisland Schools Limited, with a deep sense of loss, announce the death of our precious student, Whitney Adeniran; whose painful exit occurred on Thursday, February 9th, 2023.
“We are heartbroken and distressed. Whitney was one of our Day students who opted not to participate in the inter-house sports match past for reasons we were not very sure of.
“However, on discretion, we respected her decision to err on the side of caution, because on the January 20, 2023, it is in our records that she had complained about a not-too-buoyant health and we immediately contacted her parents.
“Her father, Mr. Michael Adeniran, came to the school to take her home. We emphasised to her parents to take a critical look at her.”
Explaining further, the school management said the student slumped in “public view and not under any hidden circumstances,” adding that she was rushed to the nearest medical facility for first aid.
“Our immediate response was to take advantage of proximity to first-aid, by identifying the nearest medical facility to take her to, where the doctor on duty, administered oxygen and every aid possible on her.”
Chrisland also appealed to the Adeniran family to get a scientific verification of the underlying cause of their daughter’s death before her burial.
The management and staff of the school also expressed their deep pain over the death of Whitney and sent their thoughts and prayers to the Adeniran family.
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, who also confirmed the incident on Sunday morning, said the matter was reported to the police immediately after the incident occurred.
He said, “Yes the case has been reported to the police. It was reported immediately the incident happened on Thursday.
“The case is presently at the State Criminal Investigation Department and an autopsy is going to be carried out to know the circumstances that led to her death. That’s all the update I have for now.”