Flood sweeps away schoolboy in Abuja, girl in Abia

A 13-year-old schoolboy and a teenage girl have been swept away by flood in separate incidents in Abuja and Abia State.

In Gwagwalada, Federal Capital Territory, floodwater carried away 13-year-old Alhassan Jamil while he travelled to school with his father on Wednesday morning.

Alhassan, a Junior Secondary School student of Ihyau El-Burhan Academy, Phase 3, Gwagwalada Area Council, fell into a flooded culvert near a Mobil filling station along the Old Kutunku-Market Road.

His father, Jamil Maikasuwa, said the incident happened around 7:30am shortly after an early morning rainfall.

Maikasuwa, who spoke to The Guardian at his Old Kutunku residence, said he had picked up his son on his motorcycle after the rain to take him to school.

He said the flood had almost covered the double-cell culvert, prompting him to apply the brakes and attempt to turn back.

According to him, Alhassan became frightened and jumped off the motorcycle before falling into the culvert.

“Immediately he jumped down from the bike, I quickly pushed the bike aside and tried to grab his hand to save him, but unfortunately, the flood swept him away,” he said.

Maikasuwa said his son had initially resisted travelling with him because he normally went to school with a commercial cyclist.

He described Alhassan as a brilliant student who consistently came first in his class from nursery one to primary four.

The bereaved father, who serves as Special Assistant to the Gwagwalada Area Council chairman on Domestic Affairs, said Alhassan was the eldest of his four children.

He said fishermen and divers had joined the search for the boy along the river.

Maikasuwa said residents living close to the river bank claimed they saw what appeared to be the boy’s body floating downstream with his school bag strapped to his back.

“My son’s corpse is yet to be recovered. We hope that the corpse will be recovered and given a burial,” he said.

An elder brother to Maikasuwa said the incident came barely four days after four people drowned in a canoe accident while crossing a river to their farm.

He said rescuers had recovered only one of the four bodies.

The wife of the Gwagwalada Area Council chairman, Mrs Rabiat Kasim Ikwa, visited the family among the early sympathisers and expressed sadness over the incident.

Residents near the scene also said floodwater suddenly surged from a Fadama farm with enough force to carry the boy away.

As of last night, rescuers had yet to recover Alhassan’s remains.

In a related incident in Abia State, a 13-year-old girl, Adekunle Emanuella Ige, disappeared after floodwater swept her away in the Agbama area of Umuahia.

The incident occurred around 7pm on Monday during a downpour that lasted about five hours.

Residents said Emanuella had gone on an errand during the rain when she fell into a large gutter.

They said rising floodwater had covered gutters around Agbama, Road Two and World Bank areas, making it difficult to distinguish the drainage channels from walkways.

Residents quickly formed a search party after the girl failed to return home.

They extended the search to the large gutters around Low Cost Housing Estate, World Bank Housing Estate and Umuafai community.

The search continued until about 10:30pm on Monday before residents suspended it for the night.

They resumed the operation on Tuesday morning, but had yet to find the girl as of the time of filing the report.

Emanuella’s mother, Mrs Adekunle Chinasa Ige, appealed to government agencies and residents to help locate her daughter.

Speaking on ABN TV, she said Emanuella had been staying with her younger sister in Umuahia before the incident.

Ige said she was in Ohafia when she received the news that her daughter had gone missing after the rainfall.

She added that the police had started investigating the incident and that the family was cooperating with the authorities.

“My younger sister said she sent her on an errand before it started raining. Though it was a little bit cloudy, she gave her an umbrella to go and get something,” she said.

Ige said the girl’s failure to return after several hours prompted the search.

She said the shopkeeper told the family that the rainfall and flood were so heavy that water covered the drainage channel in front of the shop.

According to her, the situation made it difficult for Emanuella to distinguish the gutter from the walkway.

She expressed concern that the girl might not have recognised a safe path while leaving the shop.

“I’m appealing, please, if there is anything people can do, please help us,” she said.

The incidents have renewed concerns over the dangers posed by flooding in parts of Abuja, where heavy rainfall has repeatedly overwhelmed drainage channels, roads and waterways.

The Federal Capital Territory entered a high flood alert in late July after rising water levels on the Gurara River crossed the warning threshold.

The Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency urged residents in vulnerable communities to move to safer locations where necessary.

Earlier in July, the FCT Emergency Management Department barricaded the slip road linking the Goodluck Jonathan Expressway with Ring Road II at Galadimawa ahead of the peak flooding period.

The road had become a recurring danger spot during heavy rainfall, with floodwater previously sweeping away vehicles and claiming lives.

Heavy rains triggered flash floods across several parts of Abuja in August, including Wuse 2, Katampe, Mabushi, Lugbe, Nyanya, Gwarinpa, Asokoro, Maitama, Utako, Wuye and Gudu.

Flooding also affected areas around the bridge linking Gaduwa and Durumi, leaving some motorists stranded and damaging vehicles.

Another major episode later affected Asokoro, Maitama, Guzape, Lokogoma, Garki and Wuse.

The repeated incidents have intensified concerns about Abuja’s drainage capacity, development control and construction around waterways.

Following flooding around Airport Road and Lokogoma, the FCT Administration began examining the impact of heavy rainfall and human activities, including developments that allegedly contravened the Abuja Master Plan.

The administration identified inadequate drainage systems, undersized bridges and obstruction of natural waterways as major contributors to flash floods.

The FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, also disclosed in September that the administration had suspended a director of the Federal Capital Development Authority over alleged illegal approvals for developments on waterways.