Mysterious death at Lagoon Restaurant: Keyamo battles management, writes IGP

Lagoon Restaurant, Victoria Island

Lagos-based human rights lawyer, Mr. Festus Keyamo, has urged the Office of the Inspector-General of Police to investigate the death of one Mr. Chris Onaghise, who was said to have fallen into the lagoon in a mysterious and suspicious circumstance.

SHOWBIZPLUSng gathered that Onaghise, until his death, was a member of staff of Lagoon Restaurant, Victoria Island, Lagos.

In a petition written to the police headquarter in Abuja, Keyamo said that his client, Mr. Orobosa Onaghise, who is the deceased’s father, received a telephone call on June 16, 2014 informing him that a tragic incident had happened to his son at the work place and upon arriving at the place two hours later, he was told that the deceased fell into the lagoon while on duty at about 10:00am.

The petition titled, “Suspicious death of Mr. Chris Onaghise: A case of culpable homicide against the management of Lagoon Restaurant, Lagos,” read in part, “Our client demanded to know why no immediate rescue efforts were made to rescue the deceased when he fell into the lagoon and one Mr. Rami, the Managing Director of the Lagoon Restaurant informed our client that the restaurant had no life jackets, divers or indeed safety apparatus.

“Upon our client’s persistence, the managing director invited a lady vide a telephone conversation who identified herself as a police officer from Bar Beach Police Station in charge of the investigations.

“On enquiry as to the extent of investigation, our client was bluntly informed by the police that investigation had been concluded and that she believed the deceased slipped, fell into the lagoon and consequently lost his life.

“Our client was curious as to how the investigation could have been concluded when the body of the deceased was still in the lagoon and none of the eye-witnesses or the management of the restaurant had been questioned.

“Our client’s concerns were ignored by the police officer and the deceased was abandoned in the lagoon despite the agitations of our client till 10:00pm.”

The lawyer, however, said the Bar Beach Divisional Police Officer, who initially denied knowledge of the case when the deceased’s father visited the police station the following day, later ordered the recovery of the body on June 17, 2014.

Stressing that the body of the deceased was recovered from the same spot in which he was said to have slipped, Keyamo said, “A cursory look at the body disclosed bruises and blood stains all over the face suggestive of a physical confrontation before the alleged drowning.

“To further confirm the suspicions, the deceased body did not show any signs of bowel enlargement consistent with drowning.”

The rights activist, however, urged the police authorities to investigate the incident and consequently prefer criminal charges against those found culpable.