Around 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, tragedy struck as six teens from Ribang (Mbang) village, Kauru Local Government Area, Kaduna State, drowned in the Mbang river after returning from a Junior WAEC exam.
The fatalities, who were pupils at Government Secondary School Fadan Chawai taking the West African Junior School Examination, were identified as Manasseh Monday (16 years old), Musa John (16 years old), Pius David (15 years old), Monday Ayuba (16 years old), David Danlami (19 years old), and Yahuza Audu (16 years old).
Three dead bodies have already been retrieved and buried amid tears, according to Pastor Simon Ishaku, the National Public Relations Officer of the Ribang Development Association, who confirmed the event over the phone with PUNCH Online on Wednesday.
He clarified that the three missing people have not yet been found since the villagers have not been able to retrieve them from 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 before the community can access any school or hospital facility they must travel for about 8 kilometers.
“We’re calling on the Federal Government, Governor Uba Sani, Senator Sunday Katung, and our House of Representative members as urgent, to kindly assist us with school, hospital, access road, and bridge to bring succor to our community,” Simon appealed.
As of the time this report was filed, ASP Mansir Hassan, the public relations officer for the Kaduna State Police, has not returned our correspondent’s calls or texts.
Upon being reached, Mubarak Muhammad, the Zonal Coordinator of Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency Zone One, promised to verify the occurrence and get in touch with our correspondent.
As at the time of publishing, he still hadn’t done so.
