By Deborah Nnamdi
A two-year-old boy, Godwin Kumfa, is feared to have drowned in the Meme River in the Phase 11 area of Lokoja, the capital of Kogi State.
The incident reportedly occurred around 7:30 a.m. on Monday.
Godwin’s father, Mr. Mamtip Kumfa, a security guard at a private school, said he received a distress call from a neighbor informing him that his son was missing. Upon returning home, he found his wife desperately searching by the riverside.
According to Mr. Kumfa, his wife had briefly left Godwin by the riverbank while she went to collect sand nearby. When she returned, the child was gone.
“Godwin was sitting by the river while she gathered sand,” he recounted, his voice heavy with grief. “Later, we found one of his shoes near Arigbede, about 10 kilometers downstream. I’m devastated—Godwin is my only son.”
A family friend, Mr. Seun Babalola, said they followed the river’s path in search of the child but only discovered the single shoe downstream.
Tragically, this is not the first incident of its kind in the area. “Two years ago, a seven-year-old named Goodluck Friday also drowned here,” Babalola said. “It’s heartbreaking. We don’t know if it’s a natural occurrence or something more. Only God knows.”
The boy’s mother, Mrs. Lovina Kumfa, was inconsolable, crying out for help and divine intervention.
“I left him for just a moment. When I came back, he was gone,” she sobbed. “Please, God, help me find my child.”
The local community remains in shock as relatives, neighbors, and friends rally around the grieving family.
As of the time of this report, local search efforts to locate the child were still ongoing.
