Tragedy struck in the Awara B area of Gombe metropolis on Sunday night, June 29, 2025, as an 18-year-old boy, Salim Aminu, drowned while attempting to retrieve a friend’s shoe swept away by floodwaters.

 

The incident occurred around 8 p.m. during a heavy downpour. Salim, a shop assistant at Habib Provision Store, had just closed for the day and was heading home when he and a friend encountered a flooded culvert connected to a deep valley in the nearby Kurba community.

 

Eyewitnesses say the teenager entered the raging water despite pleas from bystanders and his friend to turn back.

 

“He kept following the shoe despite people asking him to stop. Even the friend whose shoe got lost called him to come back,” Salim’s father, Aminu Muhammad, told WikkiTimes.

 

According to him, Salim briefly clung to a nearby solar pole in an attempt to resist the current but eventually slipped and was swept away. His lifeless body was later recovered in a valley downstream in Kurba.

 

Describing his son as “vibrant and responsible,” Muhammad expressed deep sorrow but accepted the tragedy as the will of Allah.

 

“Salim has left a huge vacuum in our hearts. He was always willing to assist others, and that has resulted in his untimely demise,” he said. “I urge parents to be vigilant with their children, especially during the rainy season.”

 

A close friend of the deceased, Salisu Bashir, remembered Salim as a devoted and supportive companion.

 

“He was very friendly and supportive. Salim will always be missed. My last moment with him was earlier that day when he asked me to perform ablution so we could pray together,” he recalled.

 

The incident serves as a somber reminder of the dangers of flooded waterways, especially during the rainy season, and the importance of heeding warnings during such hazardous conditions.