Five communities have been submerged by floods in Ibaji Local Government Area of Kogi State as water levels in the Rivers Niger and Benue continue to rise.
The Executive Secretary of the Kogi State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Mouktar Atima, disclosed this during an advocacy visit to the state health commissioner in Lokoja on Tuesday.
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Mr Atima said 258 communities in eight local government areas have been identified as flood-prone. The state government has opened 42 internally displaced persons (IDP) camps and an emergency operations centre to manage the expected displacement.
“Already, five communities in Ibaji Local Government Area have been completely submerged. These include Ota, Ofogbo, Itima and Owara,” he said.
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The SEMA boss warned that the state was entering “a difficult period” in the coming days following water releases from dams into the Rivers Niger and Benue. He called on residents along the river banks to relocate immediately to safer areas.
Health risks
Mr Atima said the health ministry was critical to the state’s disaster response and commended the commissioner for measures taken to prevent loss of lives. He recalled that no casualty was officially recorded during last year’s flood in Kogi.
Responding, the commissioner of health, Adams Abdullazeez, said the ministry had started fumigating all 42 IDP camps and deployed personnel and materials ahead of possible outbreaks of waterborne diseases.
“We are aware that there may be an outbreak of diseases or an epidemic in the camps and we are fully prepared,” Mr Abdullazeez said.
He also credited Governor Usman Ododo for “prompt intervention” in flood management, noting that while other states recorded deaths last year, Kogi reported none.
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Recurring flood in Kogi
Flooding has become a recurring challenge in Kogi, which lies at the confluence of the Niger and Benue rivers. In 2022, Nigeria recorded its worst floods in a decade, according to the National Emergency Management Agency, killing over 600 people nationwide and displacing more than a million.
Environmental experts have repeatedly faulted federal and state authorities for what they describe as reactive rather than preventive strategies in tackling floods, including poor dam management and weak enforcement of urban planning regulations.
With the rainy season intensifying, it remains unclear how effectively state and federal agencies will protect vulnerable communities across Kogi and other high-risk states.
