Sad! 3-Year-Old Boy Dies After Drinking Caustic Soda Allegedly Left Carelessly By Teachers

Darasimi Ogunwunmi, a 3-year-old pupil of Fahsal Children’s School, Ilupeju Estate, Idiroko in Ogun State who drank caustic soda allegedly left carelessly around his classroom by his teachers in November 2015, has passed on after 9 months of agony at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital. The boy, who was said to be thirsty, had mistaken the chemical for water.

According to Punch, following the unfortunate incident, he underwent six different surgeries. He died on Monday, September 12, few days after his last surgery, which was another attempt to open up his stomach and throat following severe damage by the ingested chemical.

His devastated mum said:

“My son would have died long ago if not because of the money that kind Nigerians raised for his treatment. The money financed his surgeries and rehabilitation since that time.

If I knew he had no chance of survival, I would have prayed that God should give him rest long ago because my son suffered for every day he lived after that incident. Every day, I saw him lying in the hospital bed or sitting at home struggling to drink ordinary water with pain, I cried bitterly.”

Late Darasimi’s school’s proprietor, Mrs. Fausat Abubakar, had allegedly introduced soap making business on the school premises, and instead of keeping its production away the pupils, Darasimi’s parents alleged the soap was being produced right beside the pupils’ classrooms.

The late boy was reportedly thirsty on November 19, 2015, and when his teachers allegedly ignored his persistent request for water, he left the classroom, found some already mixed caustic soda and drank from it. His teachers later found him crying and bleeding from the mouth, applied palm oil to his mouth and rushed him to the hospital, where he was on admission till his death.

Darasimi’s family also allege nothing has been done about bringing the school to book, despite Ogun state’s promise to investigate and ensure justice is served.

When Punch contacted the state’s Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Modupe Mujota, on Thursday for an update on the case, she said:

 “There was a full investigation. But because there was no hard evidence, it became difficult to take the issue up legally. We combed the premises of the school and nothing was found, probably because time had elapsed and the school might have cleaned up.”

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She added that certain actions were taken against the proprietor following the state’s investigations but declined revealing the details. She added, “There are larger factors to be considered when you want to close down a school like the population the school is serving.”

She reportedly expressed surprise at news of Darasimi’s death, saying, ‘we were not informed,’ and refuted claims the late boy was not visited.

“If they say we did not visit, between when and when are they talking about? We have pictures as evidence of our team’s visit to the child and his mother. There were allegations from the school proprietor that the boy’s parents were trying to extort her. We went to verify the claim,” she said.

Photo credit: Punch