The devastating flood that swept through Mokwa Local Government Area of Niger State has claimed over 100 lives, with more than 100 persons still missing as of Friday.
No fewer than 44 of the victims were interred on Friday, following the burial of 31 others recovered earlier in the week.
The incident occurred on Wednesday night during a torrential rainfall that lasted several hours.
The surging floodwaters submerged homes and swept away everything in its path.
As search and rescue operations continue with more people still at risk, distraught families have mounted intense search for their missing loved ones.
Local residents told Saturday PUNCH that the death toll was likely much higher, revealing that many corpses, especially those of Almajirai (Qur’anic school pupils), had yet to be accounted for.
Over 100 dead
The Deputy Governor of Niger State, Mr Yakubu Garba, said over 100 had been confirmed dead.
Garba disclosed the casualty figure during a visit to Mokwa on Friday, adding that search and rescue operations were ongoing.
He said, ‘I have been briefed by officials from NEMA and NSEMA, who have been on ground since the incident occurred for search and rescue operations. I was told that over 100 people lost their lives and some have yet to be buried as search and rescue operations are still ongoing’.
Garba, while addressing survivors at the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp, urged them to exercise patience as the state government was working out modalities to provide relief materials to those affected.
He said the state government had received materials from NEMA, which had been handed over to the council chairman for onward distribution to the victims
Also speaking, the Director-General of NEMA, Mrs Zubaida Umar, said officials of the agency were on the ground coordinating the search and rescue operations.
One of the victims, Anas Usman, told the News Agency of Nigeria that 17 members of his household lost their lives to the disaster.
‘We were preparing to go to the farm in the morning when our house was suddenly submerged by floods; we did not know where the flood came from.
‘The flood submerged our house, causing the structure to collapse. We lost children, women and men, who are family members,” he said.
40 corpses buried Friday
A classroom teacher in Mokwa, Alhassan Kolo, who spoke to Saturday PUNCH on the phone, said over 40 corpses were buried on Friday, excluding those of the almajirai.
He said, ‘This flood is beyond our imagination. We have never witnessed anything like this before. The people affected are the poorest of the poor, many with large families. Even Islamic scholars reside in the affected areas. The corpses of the almajirai haven’t been counted yet because we still don’t have a record of their number.
“We’re talking about a large number of people who died. This is not a small area where you can easily count the number of corpses. So far, I personally counted over 40 corpses buried today. Even today alone, we discovered more than five. There are still corpses trapped under collapsed buildings’.