7 almajarai killed as burrow pit collapses in Kebbi

A pit collapsed on eight pupils of the Malam Dan-Umma Qur’anic School at Bayan Science, Badariya in Birnin Kebbi Local Government Area of Kebbi State, killing seven of them and injuring one.

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.