Tragedy struck Sakwaya, a village in Dutse, Jigawa State, on Saturday when four teenage girls reportedly drowned in a pond while searching for firewood.
The incident occurred in the afternoon when the little girls attempted to swim across a stagnant pond at Farantama district under Albasu local government of Kano state.
The girls, Sumayya Gadi, 7, Zuwaira Abdulhamidu, 12 , Ummi Sa’adu, 11, and Gaji Sa’adu, 12, respectively, were said to have been sent on errand by their parents to fetch firewood from the neighbouring bushes when news broke to members of the village that their wards were killed.
The incident, which have thrown the members of the community into shock and mourning, has also generated debate on the root cause of the victims death.
Although all the victims corpses have been recovered and buried immediately in accordance with Islamic rite, some members of the community could not hide their reservations that the death may have been as a result of ‘probable’ course.
The police public relations officer SP Abdul Jinjiri who confirmed the incidence said four girls were first recovered by their parents and immediately buried them therefore no any autopsy was conducted on them. He however stated that from their preliminary investigation and report from their parents the girls were said to have died as a result of drowning.
