In the past three years, five people have drowned in Mapa, Dutse ward, Bwari Area Council, FCT, due to a faulty bridge that got overflooded during incessant rains in September. The bridge is the major access road in and out of the community, and it gets flooded every year whenever it rains.
Queen, a lady in her early twenties, living in the community, died from trying to cross the bridge on Tuesday on her way back from work. Her body is yet to be found. Residents who were trying to cross the water on the bridge saw her drowning but couldn’t save her because they were trying to save themselves from also drowning.
According to Yunusa Luka, the youth leader, residents are yet to find her corpse after searching but have reported the incident to the police.
“Up til now, we have not found her corpse. We have been searching nearby streams and river banks but couldn’t find her. We need the help of TrackaNG to come and help us take our cry to the appropriate authorities and relevant places to come to our aid.” he said.
The residents lamented that they have been going through this for over twenty-eight years. The community is handicapped and locked in during the rainy season. People who have businesses outside the community can’t leave, and students in secondary school can’t go to school whenever it rains due to the possibility of drowning.
The community are calling on the government to save them and do something about the bridge.
“We need help from our leaders to come to our aid and save us and save our children from dying while trying to cross the water,” said Yunusa, the youth leader of the community.
We urge Hon. John Gabaya Shekwogaza, the Chairman of Bwari Area Council, Rt. Hon. Micah Jiba representing Abuja North Federal Constituency, Senator Phillip Aduda, representing FCT Abuja, and FCT Minister of state Ramatu Tijani Aliyu, to urgently look into this issue and repair the bridge to enable the community to survive rains and flood.
This is an emergency in the nation’s capital and must be addressed.
