A 15-year-old boy simply identified as Ekine who was reported missing on Monday has been found dead around Mbudayia River in Rumuolumeni community in Obio/Akor Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The remains of the teenager, who resided with his parents in Mile 2, a densely populated area of Diobu in Port Harcourt, were discovered on Thursday.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the parents of the deceased had reported a case of a missing person to the police on Tuesday, August 8, 2023.
A source who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the matter told our reporter that the corpse was seen by a boat driver on Thursday when it floated on the river.
He said, “Nobody knows exactly what happened. It was the boat driver that spotted his body floating on the river.
“We learnt that his parents have been informed and upon arrival at the scene, they discovered it is their missing son and they buried him at the waterside.”
When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Grace Iringe-Koko, while confirming the incident said the boy drowned.
Iringe-Koko, a Superintendent of Police, said “From the information available to me, the boy was picking packs of noodles.
“Thereafter, he went to the river to wash the packs. When he was done, he went to wash his legs at a different location. That was how he drowned.
“We (police) have commenced an investigation into the incident to ascertain what happened.”
