The landlord, whose dogs killed a five-year-old girl, Aliyah
Masaku, in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State, has relocated them to the Sagamu
area of Ogun State.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the landlord, Alhaji Akeem
Sulaimon, sent someone to remove the 15 dogs late Wednesday, before officials
of the state government could get any chance of seizing them.
Our correspondent had reported that the victim was in the
house on Monday when an Alsatian dog, identified as Rover, dragged her from the
room to the backyard, where two other dogs joined in attacking her.
She was later rushed to the Ikorodu General Hospital from
where she was transferred to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital,
Ikeja, where she died on Wednesday.
The Director of the Lagos State Office of the Public
Defender, Olubukola Salami, while saying the victim died due to negligence and
greed, noted that the government would remove the dogs from the house.
But by Thursday when officials from the state Ministry of
Agriculture, Department of Veterinary Services, visited the house, the kennels
were empty.
An official said the house gate was open, but the premises
empty.
He said, “He sent some people to remove the dogs from the
kennels late in the night yesterday (Wednesday). When he was called on the
phone, he said since there was nobody to take care of the dogs again, he
decided to move them somewhere else. He said the dogs were taken to Sagamu and
didn’t give details.”
When our correspondent called Sulaimon, who is based in
London, United Kingdom, on the telephone, he did not pick his calls.
The father of the victim, Wasiu, said Aliyah would be buried
on Friday.
“The doctors at LASUTH called me to come for the corpse
today (Thursday), but I told them I was trying to raise fund for the burial
ground. We will bury her on Friday,” he said.
The OPD Director, Salami, said the owners of the dogs might
be prosecuted, adding that Interpol would be involved.
She said, “The father of the child has already paid a big
price for his negligence, but the owner of the dogs cannot be allowed to escape
the law. He may face manslaughter charges since he owned the dogs. We may have
to involve Interpol to ensure his arrest.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos,
urged the family of the victim to report to the police.
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