PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has visited Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, on Monday, September 16, to commiserate with the government and citizens affected by the recent flooding.
Tinubu arrived at 3:40 pm and immediately visited an emergency relief camp to show solidarity with victims.
During his visit to the camp, Tinubu pledged that his administration would provide support to the displaced individuals.
“I want to assure you that we are going to support you, we will support you. God Bless you,” Tinubu said.
Tinubu’s entourage included the senate president, Godswill Akpabio, minister of agriculture Abubakar Kyari, and other presidential aides.
Ahead of Tinubu’s visit, the Inspector General of Police, (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun, was already in Maiduguri, where he inspected police facilities affected by the flood earlier in the day. He received the president upon arrival at Maiduguri Air Force Base.
Other dignitaries who welcomed the president included the Nigeria Governors’ Forum chairman, Abdulrahman Abdulrazak, PDP Governors’ Forum chairman, Bala Mohammed, Kogi State governor, Ahmed Ododo, and that of Sokoto State, Ahmed Aliyu.
Tinubu arrived back in Nigeria last night, following his official trip to China and a brief stopover in the UK.
According to officials, severe flooding in Maiduguri, Nigeria, claimed 30 lives and displaced 400,000 people as of Wednesday.
The spokesperson of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Ezekiel Manzo confirmed that a day after water from an overflowing dam swept away thousands of homes in the capital city, about 30 people have died.
Meanwhile, in an interview with Channels Television on Saturday, September 14, Borno State governor, Babagana Zulum, stated that the exact number of fatalities from the Maiduguri flood remains uncertain, as rescue efforts continue to reach inaccessible areas.
He pledged government support for affected victims and attributed the disaster to years of neglecting the dam, vowing to address the issue.
The ICIR reported that following the severe flood in Maiduguri, the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has confirmed that 281 inmates are missing from the Medium Security Custodial Centre located in the capital city.
The NCoS made this known in a statement released by its spokesman, Umar Abubakar on Sunday, September 15, noting that only seven inmates were returned to the centre.
The flooding, which affected various parts of Maiduguri, was said to have inundated the correctional facility, leading to the collapse of sections, including the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Maiduguri (MSCC), as well as the staff quarters in the city.
The security agency noted that, in the aftermath of the disaster, it discovered that 281 prisoners escaped during the evacuation process.
A reporter with the ICIR
A Journalist with a niche for quality and a promoter of good governance