Tragedy in Maroua: Six children, four from same family drown.

Moumi Moussa, father of 10, who lost four of his children, was in a state of confusion and shock as he recounted how his children drowned.

"They all went to fetch fuel wood. Then one of them said he wanted to bathe and so rushed to a nearby runoff water in a hole dug by those who dig sand and sell. He jumped into it and began sinking,” Moumi said.

He added that: “Apparently, he didn't know the hole was that deep but was just interested in the water. When he noticed he was drowning, he asked one of his brothers to help him out. Unfortunately, the brother too, in a bid to save his brother's life, also drowned”.

“The other brother also equally went to help out but drowned too. My daughter, who saw what was happening, thought she will follow suit and so rushed home and called her elder brother who is 14 years to help out his other siblings. Sadly, he too was submerged by the water," Moumi recounted in distress.

Two other families equally lost a child each in some riverbeds in Maroua. 

The Senior Divisional Officer, SDO, of Diamaré, Jean Marc Ekoa Mbarga, has sympathised with the families of the deceased but also stressed the need for families to take their responsibility to educate their children.

Ekoa Mbarga, in a communique, warned that the forces of law and order will now patrol riverbeds regularly to prevent such incidents. He said any child found there will be taken to the police station. 

Parents of such children caught along riverbeds, he warned, will be detained once they show up to release their children. It should be noted that at least 10 children drown in the Far North every year in the rainy season.

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue No:3135 of Tuesday June 18, 2024