Tragedy! 15 persons drown in Maiduguri flooded river

No fewer than 15 bodies have been recovered from River Ngadabul, a flooded river in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital.

This is according to the North-East coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Muhammad Usman, who confirmed the development in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Wednesday.

Usman said that the cases of drowned people in the flooded river that affected many communities along its banks in Maiduguri have been on the increase.

He urged parents and guardians to caution their wards and children against swimming in the river to avoid drowning.

Mr Usman further decried the growing incidents of flooding in the North-East, describing it as alarming.

He said: ”NEMA as a disaster agency has been engaged in serious sensitisation of the public on dangers of flooding and precautionary measures.

“We have been having meetings with various stakeholders on sensitisation and providing relief materials to affected communities.”

Meanwhile, the Borno command of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), had deployed its personnel along the river banks to chase away children trooping to the river to take a swim.