UK-based Nigerian mum of two, Balikis Adeoye, who relocated to Dagenham in March 2021, seeks answers to the tragic incident that claimed the life of her 2-year-old toddler, Mazeedat, on January 29, 2022.
In September 2021, Balkis’ three-month-old son was diagnosed with a hole in the heart and needed to undergo surgery. Not having any family member or network support, she asked social services at Newham Council to help find a foster placement for her daughter while she went to stay with her son who was recovering from surgery in the hospital.
The social service could not arrange any placement for her daughter but rather advised her to seek help within her community.
No access to social service
Balikis was classified as an overstayer because she had been separated from her UK partner and had No Recourse to Public Funds which means she could not request assistance for help with her living costs, but the council owes her the duty to provide support for her family.
Since all efforts to get a foster placement failed, the mother of two resorted to leaving her daughter with her neighbours she barely knows only to come back with her son and find her daughter missing.
Devasted Balikis reacts to daughter’s death
After a thorough search, Mazeedat’s body was discovered in a waste bin in the garden containing 9cm of water. She drowned. Speaking on what led to the death of her daughter, Balikis said:
“At the time Mazeedat died, she was staying with people I didn’t know or trust well enough. However, I felt that I had no choice but to leave her in their care. Faced with the alternative of leaving my other child, a three-month-old baby alone in hospital to recover from heart surgery, this was no choice at all. I consistently asked for help from social services, but none was arranged.”
Inconsolable, Balikis said:
“I struggle to find the words to describe the heartbreak I feel over Mazeedat’s death… I’ll always keep Mazeedat close to my heart. I just hope that by speaking out other families facing the same situation don’t have to experience the same pain I will always live with.”
Balikis at East London Coroner’s Court
At an inquest undertaken by Irwin Mitchell, at East London Coroner’s Court, Balikis revealed that she consistently asked for help from social services at Newham Council but said no one tried to find a foster parent for her daughter.
Balikis had first been referred to Newham Council four months before Mazeedat’s death because she was living on sofas with no permanent home.
The inquest concluded that Mazeedat died due to “gross failure”, inadequate supervision in the garden, and failures by those caring for Mazeedat and the council.”
