During a campaign to combat the rising number of drownings in Maroua, security forces, made up of police and gendarmes rounded up 27 children from a waterside to the Central Police Station as a way of addressing the situation.
This action comes in the wake of a tragic incident where five children from the same family drowned in the Mayo waters, prompting urgent intervention.
Last Saturday, on the instructions of Senior Divisional Officer, Ekoa Mbarga, a raid was conducted along the mayo—a river known locally as the “mayo of death”—to identify and apprehend children who continue to bathe in these perilous waters.
The operation led to the arrest of 27 children, ranging in age from 5 to 14, who were subsequently taken to the central police station in Maroua.
Their parents were summoned to collect them, with a stern warning issued regarding their future responsibilities.
Accompanied by the Mayor of Maroua, Dr. Sali Babani, and supported by local police and gendarmerie, the SDO emphasised the critical need for parental vigilance during the rainy season, a period marked by increased risks of drowning.
“Each parent must take responsibility,” he stated. “We are in the rainy season, and it is a great danger for these children. Already, in the space of 48 hours, we have lost five children in the Mayo waters. This is a final warning. If I arrest another child in the Mayo, I will detain their father.”
After the children were detained by security forces, their parents arrived at the police station around 5 p.m. to retrieve them.
The SDO, Ekoa Mbarga, acting not only as a government official but also as a concerned father, offered advice to the children and issued a final caution to the parents.
His approach was appreciated by many, including one parent who remarked, “As a parent, I appreciate the decision of the prefect. He acted not only as the prefect of this department but also as a father. We parents must now help the prefect to do his job.”
Before being allowed to take their children home, parents were required to participate in hygiene and sanitation work at the police station.
Armed with machetes, brooms, and rakes, they cleaned gutters and public spaces, reinforcing the community’s collective responsibility to prevent future tragedies.
