When the lifeless body of a 15-year-old boy, Sunusi Abubakar, was recovered from a nearby pond on Wednesday, tragedy struck Gabari village in the Jigawa Local Government Area, bringing up concerns about child safety around open water bodies in rural areas.
The deceased was discovered in a pond known locally as Mahayin gidan Toro, about 1.5 kilometers north of the village, according to the spokesperson of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), ASC Badaruddeen Tijjani, who confirmed the incident.
In a statement released on Thursday in Dutse, Tijjani stated that “His shoes and trousers were first discovered abandoned on the riverbank on the evening of September 30.” The villagers began a search because of this, which caused them to be concerned right away.
Sunusi had gone swimming in the pond on Tuesday night at 5 p.m. but did not make it back home, according to the boy’s father, Abubakar Gabari. Local authorities and members of the community conducted a search.
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According to Tijjani, “No injuries were discovered on the body, and it has since been given to the family for burial in accordance with Islamic rites,” according to Tijjani.
The NSCDC has used the incident to further calls for public understanding of the risks of swimming in unfenced, natural water bodies, particularly during the dangerous rainy season.
Tijjani remarked, “This is a painful loss.” We urge parents, guardians, and community leaders to give children’s safety precedence and to discourage them from swimming in unsupervised, unsafe water.
The NSCDC State Commandant, Muhammad Ingawa, also urged people to cooperate with security organizations to report and secure hazardous areas.
Ingawa stated that “our goal is to make Jigawa citizens feel more secure.” We ask that all residents be on the lookout, especially during this time of year when accidents are more likely to occur.
In Jigawa and other northern states, where ponds, rivers, and irrigation channels serve as informal swimming areas for kids, drowing incidents have remained a recurring issue. The majority of these water bodies are not monitored or fenced.
Just last month, four teenage girls drowned in a pond in Malkaderi village, Gagarawa LGA, in September 2024, and three teenage girls died in Buji LGA from 12- to 13-year-olds.
These are not isolated incidents, they are not. Local resident Malam Isa Gambo, who calls for a state-wide campaign to educate families and provide safe recreational areas for children, said.
Source: Channels TV
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