The lives of two 13-year-old children have been thrown into uncertainty after floodwaters swept them away in separate incidents in Abuja and Abia State, leaving their families and communities desperately searching for them.
In Gwagwalada Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory, Alhassan Jamil, a JSS student of Ihyau El-Burhan Academy, was swept into a flooded culvert while on his way to school with his father after an early morning downpour on Wednesday.
His father, Jamil Maikasuwa, said the tragedy occurred around 7:30am near the Mobil filling station along the Old Kutunku-Market Road, when floodwater had almost covered a double-cell culvert. As he attempted to turn his motorcycle away from the dangerous crossing, Alhassan reportedly jumped off the motorcycle and fell into the rushing water.
Maikasuwa said he immediately abandoned the motorcycle and reached for his son, but the current was too strong. Despite efforts by fishermen, divers and residents to locate him, the boy had not been recovered as of the time of filing the report, although some residents reportedly claimed to have seen a body floating downstream with a schoolbag strapped to it.
For the family, the loss is particularly painful because Alhassan was the eldest of four children and was described by his father as a brilliant pupil who consistently came first in his class from nursery school through primary four. The incident has also heightened concern in the community, where residents said another four people had drowned in a canoe accident in the area only days earlier, with just one body recovered.
In Umuahia, Abia State, another family is facing a similar ordeal after 13-year-old Adekunle Emanuella Ige disappeared into floodwaters at Agbama during a prolonged rainfall on Monday evening. She had reportedly been sent on an errand when rising water covered a large drainage channel, making it difficult to distinguish the gutter from the walkway.
Residents immediately launched searches through Agbama, Road Two, World Bank and nearby communities, continuing late into the night before resuming the following morning. Her mother, Chinasa Ige, who was away in Ohafia when she received news of the disappearance, appealed to residents and government agencies to help locate her daughter, while police have reportedly commenced an investigation.
The two incidents underscore a grim human cost of flooding that extends beyond damaged roads and property: children can become victims when drainage channels, culverts and waterways are obscured or overwhelmed by rainwater. With searches for both teenagers continuing, the tragedies are also renewing calls for safer drainage infrastructure, better flood warnings and greater public vigilance during heavy rainfall.
