Who is to Blame? 5 Year Old Girl Dies Following Attack by Landlord’s Dogs

*(Readers’ discretion advised due to gory images)*

Five-year-old Aliyah Masaku, who was attacked by three dogs owned by the Landlord of the house she and her father live, in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State, has died. This story is currently trending, as people are speculating about whether the father or the landlord is to be blamed for the horrible attack. Read the story below, and let us know what you think in the comments section below:

According to Punch, Aliyah died at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, on Wednesday after she was transferred from the Ikorodu General Hospital, where she was first admitted after the incident on Monday.

Speaking of how the tragic incident happened, Aliyah was sleeping at their house on Alhaji Abdul Hakeem Bin Sulaimon Avenue, off Ewuren Road, Ikorodu, when an Alsatian dog broke loose.

The Landlord had traveled to London and handed over care of the dogs to Wasiu, Aliyah’s father.

Wasiu had reportedly left the house to get dog feed, when one of the dogs, identified as Rover, allegedly broke loose from the kennel and entered Wasiu’s apartment, dragged Aliyah to the back of the house where it was joined by two other dogs in attacking the helpless girl, and inflicted multiple injuries on her body.

According to eyewitnesses, the attack lasted for about 2 hours and they could not gain access into the compound as the gates were locked, and there are over 10 dogs in the compound.

Wasiu said a neighbour called him to inform him about the incident,

“Aliyah, my daughter, was formerly staying with her mother in Cotonou, Benin Republic, before she started living with me. Since then, she had become familiar with the dogs and played with them. If any visitor is scared of coming into the house, she goes out to bring them in.

She was supposed to go to school yesterday (Monday), but because I had an issue with her teacher, I asked her to stay at home till I get her a new school. I left her in the house around 3pm and went to buy feed for the dogs. I left two of the dogs roaming free because they were docile. I, however, put Rover in a kennel because it was ferocious and had broken free several times.

Some minutes after I went to the market, I got a call that my daughter had been attacked by the dogs. I ran back home and checked the compound without seeing anything. I searched the street as well without any result. Later, somebody raised the alarm that she was at the backyard. There, I saw three dogs on my daughter, who lay still,” he said.

He said he subdued the dogs with a stick and chased them away. Around 11pm of that day, some residents reportedly invaded the house and killed Rover.

When the Landlord, Abdul-Akeem Sulaimon, was called, he said he had already handed over the responsibility of the dogs to Wasiu, thus, cannot take responsibility for the attack.

“Why not question those on the ground? Ask those who were principally involved. Someone is responsible. Those involved are there with you,” he said.

According to Olubukola Salami, the Director of Lagos State Office of the Public Defender, who led a delegation to the hospital and the house, the state government will remove the dogs from the house to forestall a recurrence.

“This is a shocking case enough to break the heart of even the most hardened person. If proper care is not taken, this girl could lose her life because of negligence and greed.  Proper safety measures were not followed and someone tried to cut corners in the feeding and maintenance of the dogs. It is not wise to leave children and dangerous dogs alone without close supervision as it has happened in this case.

The Lagos State Government will look into extant laws on breeding dogs in residential areas with a view to evacuating those dogs and preventing such from happening again in the future. Regarding the young girl, we are looking on how to alleviate her pain and suffering,” she said.

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At around 4pm yesterday, Wasiu told newsmen that his daughter had a minor surgery at the hospital, before she was transferred to LASUTH.

”This afternoon, the doctors said her condition had worsened and she was not breathing normally again. They said they would need to take her to the Intensive Care Unit where I would spend about N500,000 per day. They have not been asking for money from me, except for the drugs. Please help me ask Nigerians for support.”

Around 6pm, same day, Wasiu informed Punch that Aliyah had been pronounced dead and broke down in tears. He lamented that his life would never be the same again.

Expressing sadness at the news, Olubukola Salami, said measures were being taken to forestall a recurrence in the state, adding that the agency was making an arrangement to remove the 15 dogs in the house where the incident happened.

“This is very sad. The girl sustained too many injuries. She was a victim of negligence and greed. We will be going to the house to remove the dogs on Friday,” she stated.

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So who do you think is to blame? Is it the landlord for having so many dogs in the first place? Or was it the father’s fault? Or perhaps the neighbors – who could have been more proactive in trying to save her?

Photo credit: Punch