No fewer than six persons, including a toddler, have been killed by a flood that sacked communities in the Ibaji Local Government Area of Kogi State.
Two of the victims were brought ashore by divers after a boat capsized while ferrying residents to Ganaja village from the Gadumo area in Lokoja.
The Kogi State Police Public Relations Officer, SP William Aya, confirmed the incident to our correspondent on Wednesday.
He said, “Yes, I can confirm that two bodies were discovered by divers following a boat accident on Tuesday when trying to ferry residents across the flooded parts of Ganaja-Lokoja Road.”
Also, the Chairman of Ibaji LGA, Williams Iko-Ojo, said four persons, including a toddler, were killed in addition to the destruction of farmland in the council.
He said, “As I’m speaking with you right now, there is no habitable land in Ibaji; everywhere has been submerged and people are devastated.”
The Ejeh of Ibaji and Chairman of the Ibaji Traditional Council, Ajofe Egwemi, called on the Federal Government to complete the dredging of the River Niger and embark on building dams as a long-term solution to the flooding problem.
Meanwhile, the state Commissioner for Information and Communication Strategy, Kingsley Fanwo, said the state government was working “tirelessly to address the problems being faced by the people as a result of the ravaging flood.”
In a related development, the Yobe State Emergency Management Agency on Wednesday said as of October 2, over 31,000 households had been affected by floods in 255 communities across the 17 LGAs in the state.
The Executive Secretary, SEMA, Dr Mohammed Goje, added that 75 fatalities had been reported as a direct consequent of windstorms and floods, with many more lives at risk across 10 council areas from May to date.
The News Agency of Nigeria quoted Goje saying 6,592 people had been internally displaced across the affected communities.
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