Tears as rain killed popular Gombe imam, destroyed houses

An imam left his faithful in sorrow after losing his life during a heavy rain.   Last Monday, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello, the Imam of Al-Burhan Masjid Mosque in Gombe, died shortly after he led the faithful in Taraweeh prayer. Barely a week after his death, Bello is already being missed. He spent the last […]

An imam left his faithful in sorrow after losing his life during a heavy rain.

 

Last Monday, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello, the Imam of Al-Burhan Masjid Mosque in Gombe, died shortly after he led the faithful in Taraweeh prayer.

Barely a week after his death, Bello is already being missed. He spent the last 13 years leading prayers, especially Taraweeh and Tahajjud during the month of Ramadan.

Midway into Ramadan, worshippers are already pensive about his absence as he was among those appointed by the mosque committee to coordinate other Imams leading the prayers during the holy month.

Our correspondent gathered that on the day he died, in a supplication after the Taraweeh, he pray to Almighty Allah to bless him to die when He (Allah) is pleased with him.

The 30-year-old died following a heavy downpour that claimed two other people, destroyed houses and carted away properties worth millions of naira in the capital of Gombe State.

Malam Bello, as he was popularly called, died while attempting to save his brother’s car from being submerged by flood. His body was found underneath a bridge at the Kumbiya-Kumbiya area of the town after three hours of searching.

Though a cleric, Bello’s intimate friend, Malam Hamza Inuwa said that few days to his demise, he observed that he intensified his prayers.

“Prior to his death, he engaged in deep prayers and fervently asked for Allah’s forgiveness. He usually did that after our daily Qur’an sessions, which we observed after noon prayers since Ramadan fasting started,” he said.

Inuwa said that because of the heavy downpour, he advised the late Bello to announce to the people not to enter their cars after the Taraweeh prayer on that faithful Monday.

Unfortunately, the imam did not follow the advice to be passed on to the faithful to beware of the “fangs” of the deadly flood.

“He attempted to make the announcement, but he dropped the microphone and his cap. He dashed outside and went straight to his brother’s car. By the time I came out, the flood had swept him and the car away. We found his lifeless body after about three hours of searching,” Inuwa narrated.

When our correspondent visited his family house in Kumbiya-Kumbiya quarters, his elder brother, Malam Ahmad Musa, said they received the death of their sibling with shock. He said they had left everything to the will of Allah.

“My last encounter with him was in the evening of that fateful day after our Qur’an Tafsir at the mosque. He read the listeners questions; and after the session, we prayed and departed. Unfortunately, I was informed later in the night that he died as a result of injuries he sustained while trying to save my car from the flood,” Malam Musa said. 

And becoming an imam at a tender was no fluke as the late Malam Bello was at home with the holy book. His brother said he started memorising the Holy Qur’an at a very young age. 

The late Bello bagged a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology from the Gombe State University in 2015. After his mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme in Kano between 2016 and 2017, he got married.

Malam Dalhatu Muhammad Tukur, who was among the people that found Bello’s body said he was still breathing when they saw him, but there was no first aid kit to resuscitate him.

“When we found the wreckage of the car, Bello was still breathing, but it took a long time before he could be removed him from the vehicle. When he was eventually pulled out, there was no first aid facility nearby. He died on our way to hospital,” Tukur said.

Daily Trust on Sunday leant that the late evening heavy downpour wreaked havoc for over two hours and claimed the lives of two other people, injured many and destroyed over 20 houses.

Our correspondent, who visited the affected areas, reports that apart from the three confirmed deaths, about eight people were still missing.

Sulaiman Adamu, 35, a Youth Marshall official, a state-run youth empowerment outfit, is yet to be found. It is believed that he was swept away by the flood.

His elder sister, Ladi Adamu, said her brother was at his friend’s kiosk near Tashan Dukku Motor Park when the rain started. It was noticed that the flood washed away the edge of the valley where the kiosk was located and took Adamu away. She said her brother always returned home around 6pm before Magrib to break the fast with his friends, but on that fateful day he didn’t return, even after 9pm and they got worried.

“When he was not home after 8pm as he used to do, our mother became worried. About an hour later, someone brought the news to her that he was swept away by the flood,” Ladi said.

She said his cloths were recovered from the water, but his body was yet to be found. She, however, said the body of his friend was found at Difa, a village in Yamaltu Deba Local Government Area of the state, about 30 kilometres away from Gombe town.

The Executive Secretary, Gombe State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Mr Danlami Arabs Rukuje, who confirmed the incident, said residential buildings, household items, several livestock and other properties were also destroyed by the flood. 

“We went out and inspected the places affected. We confirmed three deaths, including that of a prominent Islamic scholar. Also, 20 houses were badly affected in many parts of the metropolis.

“There are also unconfirmed reports of eight people who are said to be missing,” Rukuje said.

He wondered why people still build structures to block drainages constructed for free flow of water. He, therefore, called on residents to refrain from building on waterways.

Rukuje said that after compiling a report on the flood, his agency would forward their findings to the state government for further action in order to curb such disaster.