Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum has stated that the total number of casualties from the recent flood disaster in Maiduguri remains unclear.
Efforts are ongoing to reach areas that are still inaccessible, complicating the assessment of the full impact.
In an interview with Channels Television on Saturday, Governor Zulum assured affected residents that the government is committed to assisting.
He highlighted the long-standing neglect of the local dam as a major factor contributing to the severity of the disaster and emphasized that steps will be taken to address this issue.
“We need to accurately determine the number of lives lost due to the flooding. Currently, there are still areas we cannot access, but rescue operations are underway,” Zulum said. “Many people have been rescued, and while we had a similar disaster 30 years ago, this one is more severe. It’s clear that the dam requires reconstruction.”
According to officials, severe flooding in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, has claimed at least 30 lives and displaced approximately 400,000 people.
National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) spokesperson Ezekiel Manzo confirmed the death toll of 30 and reported that water from an overflowing dam had inundated thousands of homes.
NEMA colleague Zubaida Umar described the situation as dire, noting that around 40 per cent of Maiduguri has been affected.
“From our statistics, we have approximately 414,000 displaced individuals,” Umar said, adding that officials fear this number could reach one million. The UN refugee agency has called the flooding the worst the city has seen in 30 years.
