Four days after the devastating flood that swept through Tiffin Maza and Anguwan Hausawa communities in Mokwa Local Government Area of Niger State, residents are still frantically searching for bodies of their loved ones to ensure they are given a proper burial.
DAILY POST reports that official figures have already put the death toll at 151, with more than 100 others still missing
The magnitude and suddenness of the disaster shocked the community to its core and left 50 houses destroyed, about 3,018 persons homeless, with many of those affected currently taking refuge at the Mokwa Central Primary School provided by the local government.
The disaster, according to the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) was triggered by a downpour that lasted several hours, causing homes to be submerged and buildings to collapse. 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 almajiri haven’t been counted yet because we still don’t have a record of their number.
“We are talking about a large number of people who died. This is not a small area where you can easily count the number of corpses,” he said.
He emphasized that so far, he had personally counted over 40 corpses buried on Friday.
“Even today alone, we discovered more than five. There are still corpses trapped under collapsed buildings,” he stated.
However, eyewitness accounts gave a painful scenario of the development, stating that more than 200 corpses were buried on Friday alone, while many more are still unaccounted for.
This position contradicts NSEMA’s account of recovering 151 bodies on Saturday.
However, they noted that while the road to recovery will be long, their immediate priority remains saving lives and ensuring the dead receive a proper burial.
One of the grieving residents, Alhaji Belle Ibrahim, who lost his entire family in the flood.said, “I am still searching for their remains to give them a proper burial”.
The victim narrated how the floodwaters surged into their home while they were sleeping.
He said in tears, “This is the worst tragedy I have seen in over 35 years of living in Unguwan Hausawa.”
Musa Adamu explained that families are desperately combing through debris and floodwaters with hope of finding their missing loved ones.
According to him, “The exact number of casualties remains uncertain as we are still searching for the bodies of our relatives.”
Hauwa Kudu, a journalist based in Minna, whose relatives live in Tiffin Maza community told our correspondent that, “my auntie’s four children are still not yet found. My auntie was found and buried last night (Friday). My family is still searching for them.”
DAILY POST
