A heavy flood caused by a late-night rainfall on Wednesday has left many dead in the Tiffin Maza and Anguwan Hausawa communities of Mokwa Local Government Area in Niger State.
So far, the Niger State Emergency Management Agency has confirmed 21 deaths. However, residents say the actual number of people who died is over 60. More than 50 Almajirai — young students of Islamic schools — are still missing.
One of the victims was Binta, a student from the Niger State College of Health Technology. She was in Mokwa for the holidays. Her body has been recovered.
In one of the most heartbreaking cases, 12 members of the same family lost their lives in the flood.
Hajiya Hassana Mokwa, a resident, said, “In my brother’s house, they were 13 in number and only one person survived and is currently at the hospital.”
She also explained that many Almajirai pupils from a Quranic school run by her cousin also died.
“Many almajirai pupils in a Quranic school being operated by our cousin also died. Nobody survived in that house and the entire building was submerged. If you go there now, you won’t know if they ever built a house there,” she said.
“There is a one-storey building which was a residential building. It was completely submerged. As I speak with you, nobody has ascertained the number of people in the rubbles of that building,” she added.
By Thursday evening, residents had begun burying the victims whose bodies had been recovered.
Another resident, Mallam Hamza Mahmud, said the flood claimed the lives of some of his relatives.
“We have found the bodies of two of my family members, but three are still missing,” he said. “From what we’ve seen, the number of dead people is more than 60.”
The disaster has left the community in shock, with homes destroyed and many still searching for their loved ones. Emergency officials are continuing rescue and recovery efforts.
