Family seeks justice after 22-year-old son dies at Ogun factory

The family of Aiguokhian is demanding justice after their 22-year-old son, Ayomide, died from electrocution while working at a Chinese-owned factory in Mowe, Ogun State.

Ayomide was a 400-level student at the Federal University of Oye-Ekiti. He died on September 8, 2026, while working at the factory during his holiday break.

His father, Smart Aiguokhian, spoke with PUNCH Metro on Tuesday. He accused the company of negligence. He claimed the management did not inform the family about the incident before taking Ayomide to a hospital and later depositing his body at a mortuary.

The heartbroken father said he only found out about his son’s death after a mortuary attendant called him the next morning.

“The mortuary attendant called me and said they had brought my son to their mortuary and that he was deposited there by Lexzis Production Company, owned by Chinese people. I shouted, ‘How come?’ Immediately, I got ready and ran to the factory. I was shocked when I arrived at the factory and learnt that my son was electrocuted.

“I asked them why they did not call me. They said he was electrocuted. I asked, ‘Electrocuted, and you did not call me?’ You took him to the hospital and the mortuary, but why did you not call me? It was the mortuary attendant who eventually called me,” he added.

Aiguokhian said the family was devastated when they arrived at the mortuary to see Ayomide's body. He mentioned that Ayomide’s elder sister fainted upon seeing her brother's corpse.

“We were all crying. When we got to the mortuary, I found blood all over his body. Blood was coming from his nostrils, mouth and ears. We were perplexed because we had hoped that when we got there, we might discover that it was not even my son.

“My daughter also fainted upon seeing his body. I could not understand what had happened to my child. He was a brilliant young man, and he was even taller than me. He was just 22 years old,” he said.

The father is calling for accountability over how the incident happened. In a legal notice to the company, the family’s lawyer, Fidelis Irinsanmi of Kunlesanmi Chambers, said the death was due to negligence by the factory’s management.

The lawyer stated that an exposed machine caused the electrocution and mentioned that police investigations had found negligence.

“The company’s failure to contact the deceased’s family after the incident and attempts to resolve the matter amicably had not yielded a satisfactory outcome,” he added.

The notice also warned of further legal action, including calls for the factory to be sealed and for the relevant authorities to look into the circumstances surrounding Ayomide's death.

When contacted for a response on Wednesday, a company representative named Mr Victory denied that the management failed to contact Ayomide’s family.

He said they tried to reach the family on the night of the incident. Victory explained that the incident happened at night. He said the human resources officer tried to save the boy before he was taken to the hospital, where he was declared dead.

“The police were involved, and the body was taken to the mortuary. The human resources officer was also trying to get the contact details of his parents. Eventually, he got a phone number through one of the deceased’s friends and contacted the father, who said he was already on his way.

“The mortuary attendant also found a phone in the deceased’s pocket. So, it is not correct to say that nobody made efforts to contact the family,” he said.

Victory mentioned that the company and the family had been discussing compensation, but they had not reached an agreement. He claimed that during their talks, the family asked for N20 million, while the company offered N50 million to settle the matter.

“We have been meeting with the family and their lawyer to resolve the matter. At one point, they said they wanted N20 million, and the company offered N50 million. However, they did not accept the offer.

“The issue of an autopsy also came up because the family said the company was responsible for the boy’s death. The company was willing to go ahead with an autopsy to find out what happened. We did not deliberately kill anybody, and the company would not allow such a thing to happen.”

He added that the company is waiting for feedback from its management after the latest meeting, hoping both sides can reach an agreement.

“No amount of money can bring the young man back. We are also unhappy about what happened, but we want the matter resolved. We are waiting for a response from the management so that we can know how to conclude the discussions,” Victory said.