A tragic incident occurred on Monday in Lokoja as two-year-old Godwin Kumfa drowned in the Meme River near his home in Phase Two.

The incident reportedly happened at about 7:30 a.m. behind the Navy Quarters, Phase Two Extension, in Lokoja.

His father, Mamtip Kumfa, told journalists that he received a distress call from a neighbour around 7:30 a.m. that the boy was missing.

Mr Kumfa, a security guard at a private school, said he returned home to find his wife searching frantically at the riverside.

He explained that his wife had left Mr Godwin sitting by the river while she went to collect sand and returned to find him gone.

“Godwin was left alone by the river while she gathered sand,” Mr Kumfa said, his voice filled with grief.

“Later, we found one of his shoes near Arigbede, about 15 km downstream. I’m lost. Godwin is my only son,” he added.

A family friend, Seun Babalola, said they trailed the river path, but could only find the boy’s shoe downstream.

He revealed that a similar tragedy had happened at the same river two years ago, involving another young boy.

“Two years ago, a seven-year-old named Goodluck Friday also drowned here. It’s painful.

“We don’t know if it’s natural or something else. Only God knows,” he said.

The boy’s mother, Lovina Kumfa, cried uncontrollably, pleading for help and divine intervention.

“I left him just for a while. When I came back, he was gone. Please God, help me find my child,” she sobbed.

The community remains in shock, as family, friends, and neighbours rally around the grieving parents.

At the time of filing this report, efforts to recover the child (or his remains) were still ongoing by local search parties.

 (NAN)