The Nigeria Security and Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Jigawa said two teenage girls have drowned in separate incidents in Dutse and Kafin Hausa Local Government Areas of the state.
The NSCDC spokesperson in the state, Adamu Shehu, confirmed the incidents to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Dutse Tuesday.
Shehu said the deceased, Maimuna Hassan, 3, and Rabi Balarabe, 12, lost their lives on Sunday and Monday.
He explained that the three-year-old fell into a neighbourhood water drain pit in Madobi village, on Monday.
“The horrible incident occurred when the young girl left home around 5p.m. to join her siblings to play outside, but did not return along with them.
“A search was launched within the neighbourhood for her whereabouts but yielded no results, until around 8:30 p.m. when a friend to her brother spotted her floating gown inside a water drain pit located few meters to her home.
“She was then brought out from the water and rushed to Dutse General hospital, but was pronounced dead by a medical practitioner,” he said.
The spokesman added that her remains was later released to her parents for proper burial.
According to him, the teenage girl, Balarabe drowned in a river in Ashuran Makera village on Sunday.
“The said Rabi Balarabe went to wash her clothes with friends and upon completion, decided to take a bath which unfortunately resulted to her death.
“She was taken to Kafin Hausa General Hospital but was confirmed dead and later released to her parents for burial,” the spokesman said.
While commiserating with the families of the deceased, Shehu advised those constructing drain pits without covering them properly to desist from doing so, as that constitute threat to lives of innocent children.
He also called on parents to caution their children against swimming in rivers and ponds.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")