More than 150 people are dead and at least 3,000 have lost their homes after heavy pre-dawn ran lashed Mokwa vllage n Niger State.

The torrential rain caused massive flooding in the market town and nearly submerged houses and leaving some 500 residents literally swimming in and out of their homes.

Ad >>>

Affected resident waddled waist deep through the flood water wich affected households across three communities in Mokwa.

Niger state government spokesman, Ibrahim Audu Husseini, said that excessive rainfall early in the season has led to severe flooding after prolonged dry spells worsened by climate change.

President Bola Tinubu said he has directed the activation of the national emergency response centre to quickly assist the state.

‘Search-and-rescue operations are ongoing, and all relevant federal agencies have been mobilised to support the state government’s efforts,’ Mr Tinubu said in a late night message.

‘Relief materials and temporary shelter assistance are being deployed without delay. We will ensure that no Nigerian affected by this disaster is left behind or unheard of.’

Residents were mourning the dead on Saturday as some awaited news of their loved ones still unaccounted for.

They also lamented the destruction caused in the town, a major meeting point where traders from the south buy beans, onions and other food from farmers in the north.

‘We lost many lives, and the properties, our farm produce. Those that have their storage have lost it,’ said resident Kazeem Muhammed.

It comes after in September 2024 hundreds of thousands in Nigeria fled their homes to avoid sweeping floods that devastated the country and allowed nearly 300 prisoners to escape a single jail.

Maiduguri, the capital of the northern Borno state, suffered its worst floods in decades, which decimated a dam that was holding back the water.

The flood killed at least 30 people according to the country’s emergency agency and affected a million others, with hundreds of thousands of people forced into camps for displaced people.

In Maiduguri, the floods ‘brought down the walls of the correctional facilities including the Medium Security Custodial Centre, as well as the staff quarters in the city,’ officials said.

Flood waters displaced more than one million people in and around Maiduguri and thousands of homes were engulfed by rapidly rising waters after a dam burst following two days of torrential rain.