Niger Flood: Over 200 bodies recovered, says commissioner

The Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs in Niger State, Ahmad Suleiman, on Tuesday confirmed that over 200 corpses of victims have been recovered after devastating floods hit the Mokwa Local Government Area of the state.

The commissioner, who made the disclosure while speaking on Channels Television morning brief show, further revealed that corpses are still being recovered.

“We have more than 200 casualties or corpses but we are still looking for more,” the commissioner said. “We are still recovering corpses up till now.”

“Nobody can tell you the number of casualties in Niger State right now because up till now, we are still looking for some corpses.”

Suleiman said the Umar Bago administration in the north-central state has activated an emergency response and directed the distribution of relief materials to the displaced victims of the floods, who are housed in makeshift camps.

“The Niger State Government has put things in place and there are lots of contributions from various agencies and ministries. The damage on ground now, you cannot get it on social media except a visit to the scenes. There are lots of damage at the moment.

“The state government has sent trailers of rice to the victims. The wife of the governor also visited the local government yesterday and donated N50m,” he said.

Meanwhile, victims at makeshift camps continue to voice deep dissatisfaction over the handling of relief efforts.

A visit to the affected communities by reporters revealed the frustration and disappointment of flood victims, especially over the lack of adequate food supplies and poor camp conditions.

One of the victims, Mama Isah, expressed her pain, saying, “We are 17 people in my household, but we were only given one loaf of bread and some tea. How can that be enough for even our breakfast?”

She appealed to the government to allow well-meaning individuals and organisations to support them directly without interference or diversion.

Beyond food shortages, the condition of the camps has also come under scrutiny. A community volunteer, Hussaini Muhammed, described the camps as unsuitable for human habitation.