By Abimbola Ogunnaike
Tragedy occurred in Ribang village, Kauru local government area of Kaduna State on Tuesday,25 June, 2024 as six school children drowned in a river while returning from a West African Junior School Examination (Junior WAEC), in the evening.
The victims who were identified as Manasseh Monday (16 yrs), Musa John (16 yrs), Pius David (15 yrs), Monday Ayuba (16 yrs), David Danlami (19 yrs), and Yahuza Audu (16 yrs) were reported to have drowned in the Mbang River at Ribang Village.
The victims were students of Government Secondary School, Fadan Chawai.
The National Public Relations Officer of Ribang Development Association, Pastor Simon Ishaku, confirmed the sad incident to the media via telephone on Wednesday, 26 June, 2024.
Ishaku, who disclosed that three dead bodies had already been found and buried amidst tears, explained that three bodies were yet to be recovered by locals who were still searching for them in the river.
“The school children left their homes full of hope and excitement while their parents went to the farm with the hope of reuniting with them after writing their papers of the day, only to meet their untimely death.
“The Mbang River has been a death trap for our people over the years, noting that before the community can access any school or any hospital facility, they have to travel for about 8 kilometres.
“We’re calling on the Federal Government, Governor Uba Sani, Senator Sunday Katung, and our House of Representative members as a matter of urgency, to kindly assist us with school, hospital, access road, and bridge in order to bring succor to our community,” Simon appealed.
As the time of filing in this report, both the Kaduna State Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Mansir Hassan, and the Zonal Coordinator of Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency Zone One, Mubarak Muhammad are yet to comment on the development.
