Four Almajiri students have died in Kano after falling ill following the consumption of suspected contaminated fish, while another student is receiving treatment in hospital.
The deceased were identified as Abdulfatah Mohammed, 15; Yusuf Nuhu, 16; Buhari Iliyasu, 14; and Ibrahim Muhammad, 22.
The fifth student, Auwalu Surajo, 18, reportedly survived after refusing to continue eating the fish and is currently receiving medical attention.
The students were enrolled at a Tsangaya (Qur’anic) school owned by Gwani Malam Iliyasu Mai Tsangaya in Kadage Sharifai, Ungogo Local Government Area of Kano State.
Narrating how he escaped the incident, a friend of one of the deceased, Surajo Unguwar Gareji, told Daily Trust that the students began eating the fish after one of them brought it out at about 7 am.
He said he tasted the fish but stopped eating after noticing that it did not taste right.
“I tasted the fish but immediately stopped eating because it did not taste normal,” he said.
Another student, Malam Umar, also said he declined to eat the fish because he suspected it was unsafe.
According to him, shortly after the other students ate the fish, four of them became unconscious and fell seriously ill.
He said the incident was reported to their teacher, who immediately arranged for the affected students to be taken to hospital.
“Unfortunately, the four of them were later confirmed dead by medical doctors at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital,” he said.
The National Chairman of the Tsangaya Media Network, Gwani Sani Musa Nuhu, had earlier said the students were rushed to Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital after falling ill following the consumption of suspected contaminated food.
In a statement, he said the four students died at the hospital on Sunday night, August 16.
Daily Trust gathered that the incident occurred at the residence of Malam Iliyasu Zulyadaini, where Abdulfatah reportedly carried out domestic chores.
A resident, Malam Aliyu, said Abdulfatah usually swept the rooms and compound and allegedly found the fish beneath a chair while cleaning the premises.
He said the boy took the fish outside and shared it with his friends, apparently unaware that it might have been contaminated.
Malam Aliyu said he only became aware of the incident after the students had been taken to hospital.
He said it took some time before the circumstances surrounding the food consumed by the students became known.
The remains of the four students were later buried according to Islamic rites after approval was obtained from the district head (Dagaci) and the police.