The father of three siblings found dead near Owena Army Barracks in Ondo State has questioned the circumstances surrounding their deaths, saying he suspects foul play after examining their bodies.
Samuel Jonah told journalists on Monday that the condition in which his children were found made him doubt the explanation that they drowned in a small river on the farm.
The victims were identified as 11-year-old twins, Joshua and Jacob Jonah, and their five-year-old sister, Blessing Jonah.
The three children were found dead on Saturday, a day after they accompanied their father to his farm around Owena Army Barracks.
According to the Ondo State Police Command, the children later left the farm to return home but did not make it back.
The command’s spokesperson, Abayomi Jimoh, said Jonah became worried after discovering that the children were missing and subsequently began searching for them.
Jimoh said the search eventually resulted in the discovery of the three bodies “around the bank of a small river within the farm”.
But Jonah has raised questions about whether drowning was responsible for the deaths.
The grieving father said he had reported the children missing to military police officers at the barracks after they failed to return home on Friday.
He said he and his wife continued the search the following day and also contacted their pastor to find out whether the children had gone to church.
Jonah, a native of Benue State who has lived in Akure since 2003, said he was praying when a soldier contacted him and asked him to return to the barracks.
“I ran from the prayer ground to the barracks and met the soldiers. There is a small stream near my farm,” he said.
He said military officers questioned him about whether he had any disagreement with anyone before informing him that his children had died in the stream.
Jonah said the information immediately raised questions in his mind about how three children could have drowned at the same time.
He said the doubts became stronger when he arrived at the location where the bodies had been discovered.
According to him, the bodies had been covered with leaves, which he personally removed.
“When I uncovered them, I saw blood coming out from their ears. I also saw blood coming from the body of my youngest daughter,” Jonah said.
He further claimed that the children were not very wet and that he did not observe water in their stomachs.
“There was no water in their stomachs, and they were not very wet. I do not think they died through drowning,” he said.
The father said the observations left him convinced that further investigation was necessary to establish what happened to the children.
“Something must have happened to them. I suspect bandits or some other people may have been involved,” he said.
However, Jonah did not identify any specific person as being responsible for the deaths, and there was no independent confirmation of his allegation of foul play.
The police have so far confirmed that the children’s bodies were found near the river but have not publicly established the precise cause of death in the information provided.
The circumstances therefore remain unresolved, particularly whether the children drowned, died from another cause and were subsequently left near the water, or were victims of a criminal act.
A forensic examination and autopsy could help determine the cause and manner of death, including whether there were injuries or other findings inconsistent with accidental drowning.
Jonah, who described the three children as his only children, appealed to the Ondo State Government to assist in establishing the circumstances surrounding their deaths.
The case has heightened concerns over the safety of children in isolated farming communities, while the outcome of any police and medical investigation will be crucial in determining whether the deaths were accidental or involved criminal activity.
