Pangu Village, FCT – June 7, 2025 – A heartbreaking tragedy struck Pangu Village in Kwali Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Saturday as a 27-year-old man, Ismail Ahmed, was crushed to death after being trapped inside an abandoned mining pit during a torrential downpour.
According to eyewitness accounts and grieving family members, the young man had gone to a nearby stream to wash clothes when heavy rain suddenly began to fall. In an attempt to escape the intense downpour, Ahmed sought shelter inside an old mining pit—dug years ago by illegal gold miners and left unsealed.
But what seemed like a safe hiding spot turned into a death trap. As the rain intensified, the unstable, rain-soaked soil around the pit gave way, collapsing and burying Ismail alive beneath the rubble.
Alarmed by the incident, local residents quickly launched a desperate rescue mission. They managed to pull him out of the debris and rushed him to Kwali General Hospital, but it was already too late. He was pronounced dead on arrival.
The family, overwhelmed by grief, declined a post-mortem examination and proceeded with immediate burial in accordance with Islamic rites.
This tragic incident has raised fresh concerns about the danger posed by abandoned and unregulated mining sites that litter several rural communities across Nigeria. Residents of Kwali and surrounding areas have now been urged to steer clear of such hazardous spots—especially during the rainy season—when the risk of collapse is dramatically increased.
A Call for Action
Locals are now calling on the FCT authorities and the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development to immediately identify, fence off, and reclaim these abandoned mining sites, before more innocent lives are lost.
Credit: Zagazola Makama
