SOKOTO STATE, NIGERIA — Nigeria’s Sokoto State Government confirmed on Thursday, May 7, 2026, that 33 children have died following an outbreak of cerebrospinal meningitis across eight local government areas.
Nigeria’s Sokoto State Commissioner for Health, Faruk Abubakar, announced the fatalities during an advocacy meeting with district heads on Wednesday, May 6, 2026.
Okay News reports that Faruk Abubakar stated 256 suspected cases have been recorded since the disease resurfaced in the region approximately one month ago.
Sabon Birni recorded the highest number of infections with 63 cases, followed by Wamakko with 60, Shagari with 51, Tambuwal with 33, and Dange Shuni with 26. Kebbe reported 16 cases, while Bodinga, Kware, and Gada recorded two, two, and one case respectively.
Faruk Abubakar attributed the fatalities to delayed medical intervention and local misconceptions regarding the nature of the illness. He said, “No fewer than 256 suspected cases have been recorded across eight local government areas since the outbreak resurfaced about a month ago.”
The Sokoto State Government, in collaboration with Médecins Sans Frontières, established isolation centers at the General Hospital Dogo Daji and General Hospital Tambuwal. These facilities maintain separate wards for male and female patients to manage the influx of admissions.
An anonymous nurse at the Dogo Daji facility confirmed that 22 patients are currently on admission for the infection. The nurse said, “We are discharging recovered patients daily, but new cases keep coming in. Today alone, two patients were discharged and immediately replaced by two fresh admissions.”
The facility recently recorded the deaths of a boy under the age of five named Amir and a patient named Nura Jabo. The Chief Medical Director of Specialists Hospital, Sokoto, Attahiru Sokoto, confirmed that all patients previously admitted from the Badon Barade community have been discharged.
