12-Year-Old SA Boy Buried Alive Inside Church Walls: Fact Check

Story:

This 12 year old South African boy was buried alive inside Church walls!

Other Versions

A 12-year-old boy was found in the middle of a molded, laid blocks of a wall.
He was placed behind the walls alive, buried alive behind walls, used as a foundation for a church building, and yet how he survives is still a mystery, Passersby use to complain about hearing a strange noise behind the wall until one man has the courage to break the wall and behold…

Image about 12-Year-Old SA Boy Buried Alive Inside Church Walls

Fact Check:

Some picture messages doing rounds on social media claim to show a 12-year-old South African Boy Buried Alive Inside a Church Wall. It is said that the burial was used as a foundation for the church building and the boy survived mysteriously. No, the claims accompanying the old pictures are not true.

Not a Boy Buried Alive Inside a Church Wall

In December 2016, the Nigerian boy identified as Aduragbemi Saka was in fact trapped in a tiny gap between a house and a wall. The 12-year-old boy was visiting a cafe alone and started playing in a 12-inch gap between the breeze block wall and a student house. With no relatives around and trapped inside for three days, the boy cried for himself.

Image of the fall gap between a house and a wall — The fall gap between a house and a wall

Image of the boy Aduragbemi Saka cleaned after rescue — The boy Aduragbemi Saka cleaned after rescue

While passersby ignored his sounds, neighbors eventually heard the boy and managed to find him. Consequently, a policeman smashed through the wall and rescued the boy covered in dust. As can be seen in pictures, locals cleaned up the boy and handed him over to his grandmother. The incident took place in Oduduwa area in New Town, Ondo State of Nigeria. Shown below is a video news report from the area of the incident. At the time in December 2016, the incident and pictures from it went viral on social media.

So, the messages saying the pictures show a 12-year-old South African boy buried alive inside a Church wall for foundation are hoaxes. One woman from the area said Aduragbemi Saka’s grandmother has been taking care of him and he must have escaped from home before the incident happened. Another local woman mentions the boy is mentally challenged.