By Suzan Edeh
If she had dreamt about it, she would have waved it aside as one of those evil dreams induced by the forces of darkness. Indeed,  Mrs. Hamma Abdullahi, a 21- year old mother of three, could not have contemplated becoming  a widow very soon in her life.

But fate played a fast one on her as the bread winner of the family, who was incidentally  her husband, was be killed by a boulder in his place of work it was a gory incident which sparked off grief among the residents of Mubi, a suburb of Bauchi state.

The late Idris Abdullahi apparently did not see death coming especially while doing what had generated income for him for many years. If only Late Idris had the premonition that death was lurking around his place of work, he would have stayed at home.

*The boulder that sent Idris to the grave.

Vanguard Metro VM learnt that on that fateful day, late Idris and his childhood friend, Nuhu, like left for a nearby village, where they usually dug sand for moulding blocks for commercial purposes. That fateful day, the duo had gone out to mould bricks as they used to do in the past.

But what made this outing different from the previous ones was that the bricks to be moulded, would be used to build Idris’s personal house because prior to this time, he had been living with his wife and children in his father’s building.

The unfortunate incidence occurred when both friends dug the earth at the foot of the boulder and gathered soil to mould the bricks for the planned house near the family. As they dug out more earth under a giant boulder, it shifted and rolled upon Idris, crushing him to death instantly.

Hamidu, his friend, who witnessed the death of his bosom friend wept profusely but managed to give an account of what happened to Vanguard Metro.

According to him, “we were digging deep under some giant boulder and from what we gathered, there was no strong base for the boulder to stand on. Suddenly, without any notice, the boulder rolled and fell on Idris, crushing his chest. I will never forget this incident for the rest of my life, because Idris has being my best friend right from childhood”.

When asked to comment on his friend’s death, he could not due to shock. He just kept shaking his head in disbelief and shouting, Allah Allah, Yah Allah, meaning oh God, God, Oh you God!

Another eye witness, who did not disclose his name, revealed that it took up to five hours to retrieve the  body of late Idris Abdullahi from under the rock.

He said, “The stone fell on him at about 1 p.m and it was not until 5 pm that we used a tipper lorry, with a very big chain which was hired from a construction company to drag the stone away before we could take the body. The rock shattered his body completely, particularly his head and chest. It was actually a very horrible sight to behold, but who are we to question the will of God?” he asked.

Abdullahi’s father who spoke to VM lamented thus: “I have 12 children, but Idris was very outstanding; he was the bread winner of the family. He had never disobeyed me. He was very obedient, doing my wish always. But Alhamdullahi, Na gode Wa Allah Subuhannau Wa ta’alla, meaning To God be the glory, I thank God the Almighty.

Idris Abdullahi, who was buried an hour, after his body was retrieved, according to Islamic rites is survived by his mother, Mama Fatima Abullahi, 60, his father, Abdullahi Adamu, 63, who served as the People’s Democratic Party, (PDP), chairman for Miri ward for 10 years, his wife and children.

The incidenct was however not reported to any government agency for documentation and investigation.