Kano community where flood exhumed human remains

Fourteen other local government areas were badly affected by the flood which killed one person and displaced 1489 persons across the state, local authorities confirmed.  The torrential rain that started around 1.00 p.m. on Friday lasted till around 6.00pm, washing away remains at the graveyard which has been used by the community for about 27 […]

Fourteen other local government areas were badly affected by the flood which killed one person and displaced 1489 persons across the state, local authorities confirmed.  
The torrential rain that started around 1.00 p.m. on Friday lasted till around 6.00pm, washing away remains at the graveyard which has been used by the community for about 27 years.
Residents of the densely populated suburb told Daily Trust that they woke up last Saturday to the sight of remains of people buried many years ago, washed out of their graves. The incident happened when the residents were still enjoying the Sallah holiday.
When our correspondent visited the cemetery on Monday, residents were seen rebuilding the fence around. They said the flood pulled down the fence on Friday.
Chairman of `Yankaba Youth Development Association, Rabi’u Ado said the remains of 35 people were recovered and that the contents of many other graves were washed away.
“The flood first brought down the fence of the cemetery before washing away the contents of graves. When we came on Saturday morning we saw many corpses exhumed. We drew the attention and before you knew it, hundreds of people trooped here and the corpses were reburied.
“All the corpses had decomposed, but there was one that was buried over 20 years ago and it was found intact when the flood washed it out. In fact blood was coming out of the corpse when people carried it for reburial,” he said.
According to him, the community decided to do mass burial for the remains which were at various stages of decomposition.   
 Vice chairman of the Graveyard Committee, Badamasi Shehu, said the challenges facing the graveyard ranged from encroachment to erosion. “We are just experiencing this for the first time and we are praying to Allah that it will be the first and last. We are also appealing to people to come to our aide,” he said.
Alhaji Ya’u Badamasi, community leader, said the cemetery was established 27 years ago. “This is the first time that we are experiencing something like this. We reburied 38 corpses and I can tell you more than these numbers were washed away by the flood,” he said.
According to him, two of the corpses that were unearthed were found intact. “Two corpses were found intact even after the flood washed them out. This shows that the people did good things during their lifetime. And it is a lesson for those of us still living that if you do good things the reward starts from here,” he said.
At Tinshama Quarters in Hotoron Arewa of Nassarawa Local Government Area the heavy downpour destroyed over 15 houses and displaced over 30 households.
According to some affected residents of the area, the heavy rain started at about 1:47pm and lasted for almost six hours. One resident, Malam Iro Dan Musa, told our reporter that his house was damaged as a result of the heavy downpour that he was left with no option than to relocate to save his life and property.
“I was sitting with my family in one of the three rooms, when my wife noticed that the whole of the room was submerged in water. She raised alarm and I went out to check the other rooms; then I noticed that the whole house was submerged in water. I went out to find out what was really happening because in the last six years I have lived in that house nothing like this has ever happened.
“When I went out I found out that my neighbour’s house and other houses around me had collapsed. My house was also seriously affected so I had to relocate to another house same night. It was a very horrible experience,” lamented Dan Musa.
Most affected residents blamed the incident on lack of good drainages in the area and also on the lackadaisical approach of community leaders who allow people to build on waterways.  
Many believe that the way out is to remove such illegal structures erected on waterways
When contacted, the Director Operation of Kano State Emergency Agency, Mallam Abdullahi Aminu Minjibir said aside from the graveyard that was affected by the flood, a total of 471 houses were destroyed during the heavy rain.
“One person died, four others are missing and a total of 1489 persons have been displaced all as a result of the flood that occurred in the state last Friday. A total of 14 local government areas were affected in the state. Six of the LGs are in the state metropolis while the remaining eight are in outskirt,” he said.
He however said his agency is partnering with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on the plight of the affected persons.
While urging the people of the state to clear drainages and waterways in their areas, he said the state government has set up a committee to enlighten people on the dangers inherent in blocking drainages.