Kogi communities at risk of flooding as Niger, Benue rivers overflow

The Kogi State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) has raised alarm over worsening flooding in the state, warning communities along the River Niger and River Benue to evacuate immediately.

Mouktar Atima, SEMA executive secretary, disclosed that Ibaji local government area (LGA) has been completely submerged, with several other communities already inundated.

He noted that water levels in the Rivers Niger and Benue are rising rapidly and could overflow further very quickly as dam managers release excess water upstream.

“Two hundred and fifty-eight communities in eight local government areas of the state have been marked as flood-prone,” Atima said. “We have opened an emergency operations centre and set up 42 internally displaced persons’ (IDPs) camps to receive affected families.”

According to him, the worst-hit areas include Ota, Ofogbo, Itima and Owara in Ibaji, where hundreds of households have been displaced. He warned that more communities risk devastation if residents do not relocate to safer grounds.

Atima led an advocacy visit to the state ministry of health, stressing the importance of preparedness as the state faces “a difficult period” in the days ahead.

In response, Adams Adeiza Abdullazeez, commissioner for health, said the ministry has begun fumigating IDP camps and mobilising personnel to avert outbreaks of disease.
“With displacement on this scale, there is a real risk of cholera and other epidemics in crowded camps. We are fully prepared to respond,” Abdullazeez said.

Kogi, which sits at the meeting point of the Niger and Benue rivers, has a long history of devastating floods.

The latest development brought attention to the safety of riverbank communities and the urgency of putting stronger disaster prevention measures in place.