Two children have been confirmed dead following a tragic flood incident in Minna, the Niger State capital, after a heavy downpour overwhelmed parts of the city on Monday afternoon.
The incident, which occurred in the Tunga community, saw a nine-year-old girl and an unidentified boy swept away by raging floodwaters after persistent rainfall submerged roads, clogged drainage systems, and brought commercial and vehicular movement to a halt.
According to eyewitness accounts, the girl — the only daughter among three siblings — had been sent to Tunga Market, about two kilometers from her home, to purchase soup ingredients. She was accompanied by her 11-year-old brother. Despite signs of worsening weather, the children ventured out under an umbrella during a brief lull in the rain.
The situation worsened shortly after, as torrential rains returned with force, creating flash floods that rendered roads impassable and filled open drainage channels. On their way back, the young girl reportedly slipped and fell into a large drainage system built decades ago during the Ibrahim Babangida military administration by Julius Berger.
Nearby residents revealed that the girl’s brother desperately raised an alarm as he watched his sister get swept away, but the fierce current and rising waters made any rescue attempt impossible. The distraught boy raced home to alert their family.
Tragically, the girl’s remains were later discovered at a drainage outlet along Mandela Road, more than five kilometers from where she had fallen in. Shockingly, the body of another young boy, also believed to be a victim of the same flood, was found alongside hers.
When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), Hussaini Ibrahim, expressed deep sorrow over the incident, confirming the agency was previously unaware of the tragedy but pledged to visit the bereaved family.
This incident has heightened concerns over the growing menace of urban flooding in Niger State, especially during the rainy season. It comes just weeks after a flood disaster in Mokwa claimed over 150 lives and left several homes destroyed.
