•The deceased children
A thunderstorm has killed six children from the same family and injured four others in Dadiri-Tirgali village, Garum District of Ganye Local Government Area of Adamawa State.
The incident occurred at about 4:00 p.m. on Sunday during a heavy downpour, it was gathered.
The victims, according to family members, were harvesting groundnuts on their farm when they took shelter under a tree to escape the rain, reports Daily Trust.
Moments later, lightning struck the tree, killing six of them instantly and injuring four others.
A witness told our correspondent that the injured victims sustained varying degrees of injuries and were receiving treatment at the General Hospital, Ganye.
The deceased were identified as Abdulrahman Musa, 7; Aliyu Sule Maunde, 10; Jaafar Sule Maunde, 10; Bilkisu Jibrin Maunde, 20; Musa Ahmadu, 9; and Auwalu Nuhu, 11.
The injured are Nasiru Abubakar, 7; Rilwanu Ahmadu, 9; Saadatu Isa, 35; and Hasiya Isa, aged one year and three months.
It was gathered that after the victims were taken to the General Hospital in Ganye, the mortuary attendant was unavailable to receive the bodies.
The families, therefore, took the remains home and buried the six children on Monday morning at Wukari Ganye Quarters in accordance with Islamic injunctions.
A resident, Ishaku Babidi, said sympathisers from Ganye and neighbouring communities had continued to visit the bereaved families to offer condolences and pray for the speedy recovery of the injured. Residents described the incident as one of the worst lightning-related disasters to hit the community in recent years.
‘I sent them to farm, but they never returned’
Speaking to our correspondent in separate telephone interviews, the bereaved parents and relatives said they rushed to the farm after they received a distress call from a survivor, only to find their children lying motionless on the ground.
One of the grieving parents, Musa Maude, popularly known as “Soja”, who lost both a son and a grandson in the tragedy, said he was the one who asked the children to go to the farm to harvest groundnuts.
“I sent them to the farm that afternoon. While they were harvesting, the rain started falling heavily,” he said.
According to him, at about 4 p.m. on Sunday, one of the survivors called and informed him that lightning had struck the group, urging him to come to the farm immediately.
“When we got there, we found eight of them lying under the tree. A woman was lying nearby.
“She was unconscious at first, but later regained consciousness, and her baby, who was strapped to her back, started crying.
“We touched two of the children, and they began to move. One complained of severe pains in his legs and back and could not walk, while the other said his eyes were hurting and could not bear any light,” he recalled.
Maude said other family members later arrived with a tricycle and rushed all 10 victims to the General Hospital in Ganye.
“Sadly, the doctors confirmed that six of the children had died. We buried them on Monday morning at about 9 a.m. in accordance with Islamic rites,” he said.
Another bereaved father, Suleiman Maude, who lost his two sons, Aliyu and Jaafar, said he had gone out for bricklaying work earlier in the day but returned home because of the rain.
“I came back home around 3 p.m. because it was drizzling. Not long after, my elder brother called and told me that a thunderstorm had hit the farm and that our children had been affected.
“I rushed there immediately, but what I saw was heartbreaking. My two sons were among those lying lifeless on the ground,” he said.
Jibrilla Hamma, another bereaved father, said he had met the children earlier that day as they passed through his farm on their way to harvest groundnuts.
“They joked with me and wanted to take my parked bicycle. I told them to continue to the farm and finish the work their father had assigned to them.
“After I returned home and observed my prayers, I received a distress call. I rushed back to the farm and found six children lying motionless, while the other victims were being taken to the hospital,” he said.
One of the survivors, Sa’adatu Isah, who was on the farm with her one-year,three-month-old daughter, said she had accompanied the children to harvest groundnuts before the rain started unexpectedly.
Sa’adatu said she asked the children to gather under a tree and share the only umbrella she had with them because the rain had become too heavy for them to continue working.
“We were just talking and waiting for the rain to stop when suddenly there was a loud sound. It was followed by a bright flash of light, like someone shining a very powerful torch at us.
“After that, I remembered nothing. We all collapsed. I only regained consciousness later after family members came to rescue us,” she said in a broken voice.
Sa’adatu said she still finds it difficult to believe that six children died within moments.
“This incident has taught me how short life is. At the hospital, the doctor told us that the six children had died. It felt like a dream.
“I will never forget what happened for the rest of my life. I thank God for sparing my life and that of my daughter, and I pray that Allah grants the deceased children eternal rest,” she said.
LG council launches probe
Speaking in a telephone interview, the Chairman of Ganye Local Government Area, Daniel Kamsobbi, expressed condolences to the bereaved families, describing the incident as “a tragic moment for the people of Ganye and Adamawa State at large.”
Kamsobbi confirmed that six children died instantly while four others sustained injuries.
He said a mother and her child had been treated and discharged, while the remaining two victims were still receiving treatment at the General Hospital, Ganye.
He said the council had directed the police and other security agencies to investigate the cause of the tragedy to determine whether it was purely a natural occurrence or if there were other contributing factors.
“As a council, we have asked the police and other law enforcement agencies to investigate the real cause of the tragedy, whether it was a natural phenomenon or caused by human activities, so that we can adopt the most effective approach in sensitising our people,” he said.
“If the investigation shows that certain cultural practices contributed to the incident, we will know how best to educate our people and also escalate the findings through the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) for wider public awareness across the state.”
An environmentalist and a state official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, advised residents, particularly farmers, to avoid taking shelter under trees during thunderstorms.
He urged people to stay indoors, keep away from open fields, water bodies, windows and doors, avoid touching metal objects or using electrical appliances, and seek shelter in sturdy buildings during heavy rain and lightning.
The official explained that tall trees are among the highest objects in open areas such as farms and are therefore more likely to attract lightning, acting like natural lightning rods.
He warned that even when lightning does not strike a person directly, the electrical current can travel through the tree, its roots and the ground, electrocuting anyone standing nearby.
He also cautioned that strong winds accompanying heavy rainfall could cause tree branches to break and fall, leading to serious injuries or death.
“People should take extra precautions during thunderstorms and avoid sheltering under trees. The safest option is to seek refuge in a strong building until the storm passes,” he advised.
