Two victims of the flood in Maiduguri, Borno state, died at the Bakassi internally displaced people’s camp on Thursday while scrambling for relief materials provided by the authorities.
Binta Musa, a female eyewitness interviewed by Sani Adamu, an AriseTV correspondent, during the channel’s The Morning Show live programme on Friday and monitored by FIJ, revealed this.
All hell was let loose when the decrepit Alau Dam located in Maiduguri, the capital of the state, massively discharged water, submerging most parts of the capital on Tuesday. Several thousands have been displaced, wildlife forced out of their habitats and property destroyed.
READ ALSO: Maiduguri Residents Face Disease Threat After Major Flood Incident
Like Binta, Isa Ali and Bintu Mustapha, who are also flood victims, narrated their experiences in Hausa while the journalist translated it to English.
“I am one of the victims,” Binta said.
“My area was devastated by water. The food that the government is cooking for us here is not enough. Most of the people here are not getting food. Yesterday, in the course of people rushing and pushing to go and collect food, two people died.
“Our immediate need is food and the government should intensify efforts in controlling the flood so that we can return to our houses.”
READ ALSO: FG Budgeted N762m for Alau Dam Repairs in 12 Years. It Still Collapsed, Flooded Maiduguri
Borno has already been blighted by the decade-long fight against terrorism. Since Tuesday, the authorities have reopened some of the closed IDP camps, including the Bakassi camp, to accommodate the flood victims.
These camps house the less-privileged victims while the privileged victims have taken shelter in hotels and their friends’ homes across and outside the state, the correspondent also explained.
There are reports that there was prior knowledge that the overstretched dam would release water. Yet, no action was taken to adequately mitigate the impact.
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