The father of the three siblings, including 11-year-old twins, who were discovered dead near a small river at a farm near the Owena Army Barracks in Akure, Ondo State, has rejected the theory that his children drowned, saying the circumstances surrounding their deaths suggested possible foul play.
Samuel Jonah, the bereaved father, said what he saw when the bodies of his children were found heightened his suspicions.
The victims were identified as 11-year-olds Joshua Jonah, his twin brother Jacob Jonah and their five-year-old sister Blessing Jonah.
Jonah said he was particularly disturbed because, in his view, the bodies were not wet enough and there was no water in the stomachs.
He also reported to have seen blood flow from the ears of the children, and from the body of his youngest daughter.
He said: “When I uncovered them, I saw blood coming from their ears. I saw blood coming from the body of my youngest daughter too. “I have never seen someone bleed like that when they die in water,” he said.
“They were not very wet, and there was no water in their stomachs. I don’t think they drowned. Something must have happened to them.
“I guess there could have been bandits, or other people involved.
However, Jonah admitted he had no direct evidence that connected any one person to the deaths, and stressed that his suspicions were based on the circumstances surrounding the discovery of the bodies.
“I haven’t got the evidence to say this person killed my children. “But the way I saw their bodies and what I noticed made me feel that something was wrong,” he said.
The father said the children had gone with him and their mother to the farm, and that he later left the area to attend to other matters.
So we left the farm, my wife and I, and the children were to play around the area and come home by 6 p.m.”When I returned, I told them that their mother and I were going home, and that they could keep playing around but should come home at 6 p.m. Later, their mother and I went off somewhere.
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“We came home at 6 p.m., but I didn’t see my children. I waited, thinking they would be back soon.
I started to think there was something wrong. “I grabbed my motorcycle and ran to the farm,” he recounted.
He said he reported the children’s disappearance to the Military Police at the barracks and helped in the search.
Jonah said the search ended with the discovery of the children’s bodies, after a soldier called him while he was praying and asked him to return to the barracks.
“We looked everyplace for them,” he added. We checked our church and called our pastor because we hoped maybe they had gone there,” said the woman.
“I ran from the prayer ground to the barracks and encountered the soldiers. I have a small creek near my farm. They kept me back a bit when I arrived.
“Army officers came to me and asked me if I had any problem with anybody. I said, “I have no problem with anybody.
‘Then an officer told him his kids died in the water.’
I asked them how could my three children have died in the water at the same time.
They had covered themselves with leaves when I arrived. I hand stripped the leaves. “I was greatly pained because they were my only children.”
Jonah said the discovery had devastated him and left him determined to know what happened to his children.
“Those are my only kids. “I can’t just accept that they went into the water and all died all at once without knowing exactly what happened,” he said.
He called on the government and security agencies to carry out a full investigation including the actual cause of death.
“I want the government and security agencies to properly investigate this matter. I want to know what killed my children. If they drowned let them tell us how. If someone did this to them, that person should be found,” Jonah said.
