The cause of death of two-year-old Raphella Ogbodo, whose lifeless body was discovered in the swimming pool of her school in Lagos State, has been revealed through an autopsy.
Raphella, a pupil of Smiley Kids Montessori School in the Sangotedo area of Lagos, died in January.
The tragic incident was first made public by her grieving mother on X (formerly Twitter).
Tweeting via her handle, @AbiaPrincess_X, the mother demanded answers regarding the circumstances surrounding her daughter’s death. According to her, the school claimed Raphella had drowned in the school’s swimming pool. However, she alleged that her daughter had been electrocuted and that the school placed the child’s body in the pool to cover up the true cause of death.
An autopsy conducted by the chief pathologist at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), however, attributed Raphella’s death to asphyxia and drowning.
THE WHISTLER reports that asphyxia is a condition in which the body is deprived of oxygen, resulting in unconsciousness or death.
“In the course of the discreet investigation, an autopsy was performed on the remains of the deceased, Raphella Ogbodo, by the Chief Pathologist at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), and the cause of death was attributed to (a) asphyxia and (b) drowning,” the report stated.
“This is an expert opinion from a certified government agency, which refutes the alleged electrocution claim,” it added.
Several staff members of the school — including the Head of the Nursery Department, Tonia Igbafe; Raphella’s class teacher, Helen Ebodaghe; and her nanny, Habibat Mohammed — have been arrested and charged with conspiracy, negligence, and suspected murder.
They have been remanded at the Kirikiri Female Custodial Facility.
Meanwhile, the case file has been duplicated by detectives at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) and forwarded to the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) for further review and legal advice.
