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• How thunderstorm killed 6 children in Adamawa
From Desmond Mgboh, Kano and Billy Graham Abel, Yola
The field of Dadiri Tirgali village, a quiet farming community in Ganye Local Government Area, Adamawa State, has gone quiet at noon. The farmlands, once inhabited by lively bird songs, clattering farm tools and children’s laughter as they assisted their parents in the farms, have all gone silent.
What began as an ordinary day, on Sunday, July 19, 2026, ended up as an unprecedented tragedy, following a thunderbolt that struck and killed six children.
A source told Daily Sun that the deceased included Abdulrahaman Musa, seven, Aliyu Sule Maude, 10, Jafar Saleh Maude aged 10, Bilkisu Jibrin Maude, 20, Musa Ahmadu, nine, and Auwalu Nuhu, 11. He said the affected families included Musa Maude, who lost a son, and Suleiman Maude, who lost two children, and Jamila Nuhu who also lost a son.
According to witnesses, eight children, believing the sky was safe enough, had set forth to the farm. Then the rain came like it has always done. And fell. First as in drizzles, then heavy and, finally, it began to pour amid a storm. Suddenly came a lightning bolt that lit like fire across the cloudy sky. By the time it was gone, the damage was done.
When sympathizers rushed to the scene, they were shocked to the bone. They met the corpses of six of them and could not imagine the fact that they were gone forever. Two lucky ones found alive were rushed to a nearby medical facility.
One of the villagers, Audu Bako, lamented that the tragedy has devastated the entire community and left many families struggling to comprehend their losses and their misfortunes: “Was it just a natural accident? Are the gods angry with the community? Couldn’t the disaster have spared the children? Why must the thunder come for innocent children?”
The questions appear endless as the grief-stricken, bereaved community finally accepts the inevitable and console themselves.
The deceased have been laid to rest. In attendance at the funeral were sympathizers, well-wishers, religious and traditional leaders who offered prayers for the deceased and urged residents to remain steadfast in prayers despite the painful losses.
They appealed to government and humanitarian organisations to support the bereaved families as well as extend help to the injured children.
Chairman, Ganye LG, Daniel Kamsobbi, who at the funeral extended deep sympathy to the affected families, assured the families that the council would continue to extend support to them, while pledging to ensure that investigation into the incident would continue.
