How 8-year-old girl dies after falling on exposed iron rod at Kano construction site

By Uzair Adam

An eight-year-old girl, Siyama Idris, has died after falling on an exposed iron rod at an ongoing road and drainage construction site in Tudun Wada quarters of Nassarawa Local Government Area of Kano.

An eyewitness, Abdulrashid Yusuf, said the incident occurred on Saturday near Tudun Wada Primary School, where reconstruction and expansion of the road, including drainage construction, is currently ongoing.

Yusuf explained that the girl had been sent to a nearby provision shop to buy something for iftar when the tragedy happened.

According to him, residents usually cross the drainage through a makeshift wooden plank bridge because there is no proper pedestrian passage at the construction site.

“The girl was sent to buy something at a shop for iftar,” Yusuf said, noting that people in the area normally rely on a wooden plank, locally called gadar katako, to cross the drainage.

He said while attempting to cross close to the construction area, the girl slipped and fell onto an exposed iron rod used in the drainage structure.

“The iron rod was not covered. When she fell, it penetrated her stomach,” he said, adding that the child died at the scene before she could be rushed to a hospital.

Residents blamed the incident on poor safety measures at the construction site, questioning why dangerous materials such as exposed iron rods were left uncovered in an area frequently used by pedestrians, including schoolchildren.

They warned that open drainage edges and uncovered construction materials pose serious risks to residents and called on authorities to enforce stricter safety precautions at project sites.

The incident comes days after another accident on Friday when a teenage boy, believed to be about 15 years old, fell into a drainage along Badawa Road off Lamido Crescent shortly after Juma’at prayers.

The boy reportedly sustained injuries and had to break his fast while receiving treatment.

Residents have urged the authorities and contractors handling road and drainage projects in Kano to provide safer crossings and cover exposed metals to prevent similar incidents in the future.