12-year-old hawker found dead in Borno River

The lifeless body of a male hawker, suspected to be about 12 years old, has been recovered from the Gamboru River in the Customs area of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

According to residents in the area, the boy was found floating along the riverbank.

Such incidents of children drowning in rivers and canals are not uncommon in Maiduguri and other parts of Borno State, especially during the rainy season when rivers overflow their banks.

Many children in the state, particularly Almajiri pupils and young hawkers, are often unsupervised and exposed to such dangers while trying to make a living or moving around the city.

ASP Nahum Daso, Public Relations Officer of the Borno State Police Command, confirmed that the body has been deposited in the mortuary.

“The police were contacted by members of the community in the Customs area around 2 pm. We suspect that the boy was either a hawker or an Almajiri. He is likely to be about 12 years old,” Daso said.

He added that the parents of the child were yet to be identified.

“His remains have been deposited in the mortuary. We are still trying to identify whose child he is,” the police spokesman said.

Daso also called on members of the public, particularly parents, to keep close watch over their children as the rainy season intensifies.

“Parents must keep an eye on their children and ensure that they do not go swimming in the rivers,” he warned.

Some residents of the area suggested that the boy may have been swept away by a flood from another part of the city.

Mustapha Shaibu, one of the residents, said, “His identity is not known. He was already dead when we found him. We suspect that floodwaters carried him from somewhere he was swimming and brought him to this side.”

The Gamboru River, which passes through the Customs area of Maiduguri, is notorious for seasonal flooding. Residents say that during heavy rains, the water level rises quickly and sweeps away objects and unsuspecting individuals.

In recent years, authorities and humanitarian groups have raised concerns over the vulnerability of street children in the North-East, where the Boko Haram insurgency has displaced thousands of families, leaving many children to fend for themselves.