By Maduabuchi Nmeribeh/Kano
A heartbreaking tragedy unfolded in Kano on Friday as two young almajirai lost their lives after reportedly ingesting a substance believed to be poisonous.
Four other almajirai students who consumed the same mixture are currently hospitalised and receiving treatment.
The victims, identified as Abdullahi (12) and Aminu (14), were said to have found the powdery substance beside a gutter along Kotu Street in the Gwammaja area of the city.
Mistaking it for powdered milk, the boys mixed it with water to make tea, a common meal among students in their situation.
Shortly after consuming the drink, the boys began showing alarming symptoms.
According to their Islamic teacher, Malam Nafiu, all six children became critically ill, with two of them succumbing despite efforts to save their lives.
“Someone had thrown the substance over a fence. The children found it, and thinking it was milk, made tea with it,” Nafiu recounted.
“Abdullahi and Aminu couldn’t survive, but the other four are responding to treatment.”
Eyewitnesses described a harrowing scene, saying the children began foaming at the mouth shortly before they died.
The victims, originally from Dandume Local Government Area in Katsina State, were brought to Kano to study the Qur’an under a local tsangaya school.
Though the exact nature of the substance remains unconfirmed, authorities have commenced a full investigation.
Police officers have visited the scene and collected evidence, while autopsy and toxicology tests are expected to determine the precise cause of death.
