Families cry foul over the death of two Chinese company workers in swimming pool

September 9, 2012 will remain a black day for the families of Richard Dada and Odion Imhonbhio, as the duo died in a controversial circumstance at a pool where they both worked at Chinese Group of Companies, Lagos.


Although the management had claimed the two staff were both drowned to death, Simeon, the elder brother of Richard is seriously pointing accusing fingers at the Chinese company for been responsible for the mysterious death of their workers, same reasons the company has been avoiding meeting with the deceased families.

He said since Richard and his colleague, Imhonbhio, died in the pool, all effort to see the company’s management had proved difficult.

The deceased families took another step by writing a petition to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba, Lagos.

Speaking with the media, Simeon said, “Since the incident occurred, the management of CGC has refused to see us. We have only been speaking with the driver and the Public Relations Officer of the company. They were also the ones that offered N500, 000 settlements to us.

It took the reaction of the media to shake the company before they started to take us seriously.”

He also confirmed that the company had earlier given a strict warning to its members of staff to avoid using the swimming pool as it was going under total reconstruction, but the deceased were said to have defied this instruction.

Simeon also argued that even if the swimming pool was under construction, the employees ought not to have drowned.

He maintained that their death was still unbelievable because he knew his brother to be a good swimmer, “It’s a swimming pool, not a river. If you see the two corpses, their stomachs were flat which means they did not take in any water. It is our firm suspicion that they were killed and thrown into the pool.

My brother was a very good swimmer; he had worked in the company for about four years. He worked in the company’s head office in Kaduna before he was transferred to Lagos.”

However, the PRO of the company, identified as Mr. Ajiboye; a driver and a Chinese national were queried by SCID over the death.