Tragedy struck in Zaria, Kaduna State, on Monday when a woman, her three-year-old child, and a commercial motorcyclist were swept away during a heavy downpour that left parts of the ancient city submerged.
An eyewitness, Mustapha Badamasi, popularly known as Dan Bakano of Tudun Jukun, told PLATFORM TIMES that the incident occurred along Gaskiya Road, near a church in Tudun Jukun, when floodwaters overran the major drainage in the area.
According to him, the victims were on a motorcycle when the rider lost balance on the edge of the flooded drainage.
The woman, identified as Fatima Sani Danmarke, attempted to save herself and her baby by jumping off the bike, but both slipped into the raging water and were swept away.
“The motorcyclist too was carried away by the flood,” Badamasi said, adding that a good Samaritan who attempted to rescue them was also dragged into the water.
So far, only the body of Yusuf Surajo, also known as Abba, has been recovered. He was said to have sustained injuries to the forehead before drowning. His funeral prayer was led by Imam Mallam Musa Umar Al-Mishawi at Kwarin Dangoma on Tuesday morning, after which he was buried according to Islamic rites.
The mother, her child, and the motorcyclist remain missing as of the time of filing this report. Efforts to reach the Zaria Zonal Coordinator of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) were unsuccessful as his mobile line was unreachable.
The incident has again raised concerns about the poor state of flood control infrastructure in Zaria and other parts of Kaduna State, where residents have repeatedly lamented government neglect of critical drainages.
Just last month, the Emir of Zazzau, Ambassador Ahmad Nuhu Bamalli, decried the city’s growing infrastructural and environmental challenges, warning that flooding could worsen unless urgent interventions were carried out.
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