Twelve members of a family were among the people who d!ed in a flood that ravaged the Tiffin Maza and Anguwan Hausawa communities in Mokwa Local Government Area of Niger State late Wednesday night, May 28.
The flood left many other persons, including over 50 almajirai missing, and destroyed many houses.
Mokwa is one of the busiest towns in Niger State because it is a resting and parking point for travelers and heavy-duty vehicles.
Although the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) confirmed 21 dead, residents said the casualty figure could be over 60.
A student of the Niger State College of Health Technology, identified as Binta, who was in Mokwa for holidays, was among the victims. Her body was said to have been recovered.
A resident of the area, Hajiya Hassana Mokwa, told Daily Trust that 12 of the 13 members of her brother’s family d!ed in incident; while the only survivor was hospitalised.
She said the incident also claimed the lives of some pupils of a Quranic school owned by her cousin.
“In my brother’s house, they were 13 in number and only one person survived and is currently at the hospital.
“Many almajirai pupils in a Quranic school being operated by our cousin also died. Nobody survived in that house and the entire building was submerged. If you go there now, you won’t know if they ever built a house there.
“There is a one-storey building which was a residential building. It was completely submerged. As I speak with you, nobody has ascertained the number of people in the rubbles of that building”, she told the publication.
She said as of 7pm yesterday, funerals were being held for those whose bodies had been recovered.
Another resident, one Mallam Hamza Mahmud, told the publication that bodies of two members of his family had been recovered; while three others were still missing.
He said the number of people who d!ed were over 60.
The body of a pregnant woman was also recovered around 6pm and four of her children are missing.
Sources said over 50 pupils of another Quranic school were yet to be accounted for as of 7pm yesterday.
One of the sources, Alhaji Baba Adamu, said: “The victims are mostly women and children. There are male adults, but they are not up to the number of women and children who d!ed.
“The body of a woman was recovered around 6pm. There is also a Quranic school where most of the pupils have not been found.”