Kaduna: How our 6 young schoolboys died – Community leader

A leader of the Ribang community in Kauru Local Government Area of Kaduna State, yesterday narrated to Daily Trust how six teenagers from the community died on Tuesday evening while returning to their respective homes after writing the Junior Secondary School (JSS3) Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in Fadan Chawai, a neighbouring community in the same local government area.

The six teenagers reportedly drowned in a river near Kiteriya village, also in Kauru Local Government Area of the state while returning to Ribang around 5.30pm on Tuesday.

The victims, identified as Manasseh Monday (16), Musa John (16), Pius David (15), Monday Ayuba (16), David Danlami (19) and Yahuza Audu (16), were students of Government Secondary School, Fadan Chawai.

Comrade Simon Ishaku Chinge, who spoke to our correspondent on telephone yesterday, described the tragedy as “extremely distressing” for the families of the deceased, saying that all the six victims could swim but drowned because River Kiteriya was at high tide following a heavy downpour.

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“These children left their respective homes happily and went to Fadan Chawai to sit for their exams, only for us to receive the sorrowful news that they drowned in the river in Kiteriya,” said Comrade Chinge, who is the national public relations officer of the Ribang Community Development Association.

He said the six deceased children could not be rescued “because most of those around the river at the time of the incident were children like them and the information about their drowning didn’t get to our village until almost an hour after the tidal wave had dragged them down the river’s path.”

He disclosed that the schoolchildren were eight in their company but two narrowly escaped drowning, saying the incident was an act of fate, reiterating that most villagers, young and old, male and female could swim.

“Because there is no bridge connecting our various villages, it has become a daily routine for our schoolchildren to crisscross that river from morning to evening.

“There are six villages in the neighbourhood of Ribang – Kibarbak, Kiteriya, Kilong, Kime, Kipogono and Kitasara – all connected by rivers.

“Also, while we have primary schools within these neighbourhoods, not a single secondary school has been established in any of the six. This is why our children have to walk daily and cross the river to Fadan Chawa, Dama Kasuwa or Mariri for secondary education,” he disclosed.

He revealed that four bodies had been recovered and buried since Wednesday, while one other body was said to have been recovered in a village called Binana, near Mariri village in Kumana chiefdom. He added that one body remained missing despite ongoing efforts by members of the various communities in the locality.

Comrade Chinge said the incident had since been reported to the Dama Kasuwa police post, adding that some policemen were at Ribang yesterday to gather additional information. They were provided with photographs of the deceased.

1, 283 drown in 4 years

A tally by Daily Trust from reported incidents revealed that at least 1, 283 people drowned between 2020 and now, while 921 survived the mishaps and 266 are still missing.

The incidents happened in 17 states, namely, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Edo, Kebbi, Kano, Kaduna, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ondo, Sokoto, Taraba, Rivers and Zamfara.