Two children, including a nine-year-old girl and an unidentified young boy, were confirmed dead in Minna, Niger State, after being swept away by floodwaters during a heavy downpour on Tuesday.
The incident happened in the Tunga area of the state capital following hours of nonstop rainfall that led to overflowing drains and flooded roads.
The girl, said to be the only daughter among three children of her Edo parents, had been sent to the Tunga market, about two kilometres away, to buy soup ingredients. She went with her 11-year-old brother and carried an umbrella, as the rain had started in the early morning.
Although the rain paused briefly, it returned suddenly in torrents, flooding major roads and drains across Tunga. Cars were forced to stop as the water level became dangerous.
On their way back home, the girl reportedly slipped and fell into the flooded drainage. Her brother tried to save her and shouted for help, but residents could not do much as the water level had risen and the current was strong.
Witnesses watched helplessly as the flood swept the girl away.
The boy ran back home to alert their parents. Later, the girl’s father was contacted and asked to identify her body, which was found at a tunnel on Mandela Street — over five kilometres from where she was last seen. There, he discovered that not only his daughter, but also the body of a young boy, had been recovered from the flood.
When contacted, the spokesman for the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, Hussaine Ibrahim, said the agency was not yet aware of the incident.
“The agency is not aware of the disaster, but my people will visit the home of the girl at Tunga tomorrow to meet with the parents,” he said.
