A community in Calabar Municipality is mourning the tragic death of a five-year-old boy while celebrating the miraculous rescue of another after heavy rainfall turned their play area into a death trap.
Tragic Afternoon Turns Deadly
Five-year-old Mathias lost his life after being swept away by powerful floodwaters in Ekorinim 1, Calabar Municipality. The incident occurred on Sunday, November 16, following heavy rainfall that submerged major sections of the community.
Residents reported that several children, including Mathias and his friend Covenant, were playing in the rain near a flooded drainage channel around 5:30 p.m. Witnesses said the children had been riding on a sliced plantain trunk they used as a makeshift raft in the fast-moving water.
The playful activity turned tragic when both boys were caught by the strong current and swept into a 400-meter-long gutter that eventually empties into a swamp off Peterson Street.
Heroic Rescue Amid Community Panic
Panic spread rapidly through the neighborhood as residents raced along the drainage system in a desperate attempt to save the children. The situation prompted immediate action from Mr. Abam Usang Bassey, popularly known as Apostle Paul.
Bassey recounted that some youths rushed to his barbershop crying for help. "I immediately followed them to the scene and jumped inside the drainage," he said. "The current was strong, but I kept swimming until I found Covenant alive, though injured. People shouted with joy."
Despite the successful rescue of Covenant, the search for Mathias continued for nearly an hour. Bassey ignored suggestions that the flood had swept the child into the swamp and persisted searching within the drainage. He eventually discovered Mathias' body trapped under plantain trunks and leaves beneath a concrete section of the gutter.
Residents rushed the boy to the hospital, but he was confirmed dead on arrival.
Community Reacts and Demands Action
Covenant's mother, Madam Favour Effiong, expressed her devastation upon learning her son had fallen into the gutter, especially since he had survived a similar near-drowning incident five years earlier.
Through tears, the single mother thanked Bassey for saving her son's life. "God has given him a second chance. I pray every day for destiny helpers for my child. God sent this man to save him," she said.
Effiong appealed to the government to fix the dilapidated drainage and road network in Ekorinim, noting that residents often become trapped indoors during heavy rains due to dangerous flood levels.
Elder Ene Okon, a community leader, described the incident as both tragic and "spiritually worrying." He highlighted lack of parental supervision as a factor, noting that the deceased child's mother had traveled for a ceremony, leaving him with his older sibling.
"What happened is a lesson. Parents must take care of their children. Our drainage system is also terrible. Government must come to our aid," Okon stated.
Residents expressed years of frustration over neglect, pointing to poor roads and inadequate drainage channels as recurring causes of flooding. They called on the Cross River State Government and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to intervene urgently.
The parents of the deceased boy had reportedly taken his remains to Ito in Odukpani Local Government Area for burial and were unavailable for comments.
