A 13-year-old Junior Secondary School student, Alhassan Jamil, has been swept away by floodwaters while on his way to school with his father in Gwagwalada Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory.
Jamil, a student of Ihyau El-Burhan Academy, Phase 3, Gwagwalada, was on a motorbike with his father, Jamil Maikasuwa, who is the Special Assistant to the Chairman of the Area Council on Domestic Affairs, on Wednesday, September 9, when the incident occurred at a double-cell culvert overwhelmed by rapidly moving floodwater.
According to Maikasuwa, who narrated the incident at his residence in Old Kutunku, he was taking his son to school when he noticed that the floodwater was moving with considerable force.
He said he applied the motorcycle’s brakes, but his frightened son suddenly jumped from the motorcycle and fell into the rushing water.
“Immediately I discovered that he had jumped down from the bike, I quickly pushed the bike aside and tried to grab his hand in order to save him, but unfortunately, the flood water swept him away,” the father said.
Maikasuwa said the boy had yet to be recovered, noting that fishermen and divers had been mobilised to search downstream for the missing teenager.
He added that some residents living close to the riverbank said that they had seen what they believed was the boy’s body floating downstream with his schoolbag still strapped to his back.
However, the family was still awaiting recovery and confirmation of the body.
The tragedy occurred against the backdrop of repeated official warnings that parts of Gwagwalada remain vulnerable to flooding during the rainy season.
In July, the Federal Capital Territory Emergency Management Agency (FCTEMA) launched a flood-preparedness campaign beginning in Gwagwalada Area Council, following forecasts indicating heightened flood risks across vulnerable parts of the nation’s capital. The agency said the exercise was intended to translate national flood forecasts into community-level preparedness and early action.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) had also warned residents of flood-prone communities to take precautionary measures, relocate to safer areas when necessary and avoid driving or walking through floodwaters.
Earlier, NEMA said a NiMet flash-flood advisory had identified the FCT among areas at risk, citing persistent rainfall, saturated soil and the increased possibility of rapid surface runoff, particularly in low-lying communities and areas with inadequate drainage.
FCT emergency officials had specifically identified Gwagwalada among communities requiring heightened flood preparedness as the 2026 rainy season intensified.
Jamil’s disappearance highlights the immediate danger faced by residents who have to navigate flooded roads, drainage channels and culverts during heavy rainfall.
For families taking children to school, the danger is particularly acute because seemingly passable crossings can become deadly within minutes when water levels rise and currents strengthen.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.