1 hospitalised with spinal cord injury
From Olanrewaju Lawal, Birnin Kebbi
No fewer than eight Qur’anic school pupils, popularly known as Almajiris, who were pupils at the Malam Dan-umma Quranic School at the Bayan Science, Badariya area, in Birnin Kebbi, were killed by a collapsed mountain.
It was gathered that the victims were digging clay sand from the hill before the mountains caved in and buried them alive about 10 metres underneath. The victims are; Muhammad Bawando, Musa Kambaza, Dan-sayyada Kambaza, Abu Takai, Nasir Cheferu, Barmo Babanda, Kalije Bawanda, Yakubu and Aminu.
When confirming the incident to newsmen, at his residence inside the school premises, at Badariya Bayan Science, the proprietor of the school, Malam Dan-umma, said seven pupils died on the spot, while the eight one was hospitalised as a result of the collapsed borrow pit which buried them while collecting laterite sands.
He said: “Today is one of the saddest days in my life. What happened was that I assigned them to go to the top of the hill near the school to excavate clay and gravel to mend holes inside their rooms against the upcoming rainy season. But before they came back, I was told a heavy chunk of the laterite hill had fallen over them. I immediately rushed to the scene of the incident, where I confirmed seven of them were dead and one other who survived was rushed to the hospital in Birnin Kebbi”.
Dan-umma further said the bodies of the seven deceased pupils were deposited at the mortuary of Sir Yahaya Memorial Hospital, Birnin Kebbi, before taking them to their parent’s houses for funeral.
The Special Adviser to the Kebbi State Governor on Pilgrims Welfare Agency, Mallam Zayyanu Sanka, while reacting to the incident, expressed his deep sorrow over the tragedy and said government would look into the possibility of banning excavation of clay, soil or gravels on top of such hills, as a deliberate measure to tackle future recurrence of such incident.