The Oyo State Police Command issued a public safety advisory on Wednesday night, urging residents to exercise extreme caution around rivers, streams, dams, swimming pools, and other aquatic facilities to prevent accidental drowning.
The warning, contained in a statement by the state Police Public Relations Officer, Olayinka Ayanlade, in Ibadan, comes in response to a series of tragic drowning incidents recorded across the state in 2025.
The police also directed a specific caution to church owners and religious organizations, particularly those with worship centers located near natural water bodies, urging them to implement proactive safety measures during religious gatherings.
The advisory follows several similar tragedies. In June 2025, officials from the Saki Zonal Command of the State Fire Service recovered the body of a two-year-old girl from a well at Orita Mokola Junction in Saki Local Government Area. Later, in November 2025, the body of a 45-year-old man was retrieved from a well in Odo-Ogbo, Oja-Agbe, within the Iseyin Local Government Area.
The PPRO stressed the dangers of unsupervised access to water bodies, especially by children, and called on the public to strictly discourage such activities.
“Members of the public are hereby urged to exercise extreme caution around rivers, streams, dams, swimming pools, and other water-related facilities to prevent accidental drowning,” Ayanlade stated.
