The proprietor of the school, Malam Dan
Umar, confirmed the incident to reporters at his residence in the school
premises yesterday, April 20
He said that earlier on Saturday, April 20,
he had assigned the pupils to go to the top of the hill near the school to
excavate clay and gravel to mend the holes inside their rooms in preparation
for flooding season.
Umar, who spoke amid tears, said that in
the process, a heavy chunk of the laterite fell on them, leaving seven dead on
the spot and one hospitalised.
He said: “Today is one of the saddest days in my life. When I was told that a
heavy chunk of the laterite fell on them, I immediately rushed to the scene of
the incident, where I confirmed that seven of them were dead. The one who
survived was rushed to the hospital in Birnin Kebbi.
“It was sad for me. I was still in the
house when someone called to tell me the bad news. I still find it difficult to
believe."
Residents around the area said that apart
from using some caved areas of the hill for convenience, the pupils also used
its mud to build a place where they rested.
One of the residents, Malam Shehu Abubakar,
said: “I saw them this morning when they gathered at the hill as they used to
do every day. The hill is like a home to them. That is where they usually do
all their things. If they were not in the class, you would find them doing one
thing or another."
The special adviser to Governor Nasir Idris
on pilgrims’ welfare, Zayyanu Sanka, who also lives around the area, was
reported to have said that the state government would look into the possibility
of banning the excavation of soil or gravels on top of such hills in order to
forestall reoccurrence.
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