SEVERAL properties worth millions of naira have been destroyed following a flash flood in parts of the popular General M.I. Wushishi (Mohammed Inuwa Wushishi) Housing Estate in Minna, Niger State.
Some homes were also said to have been submerged.
News Point Nigeria visited the affected area, where several houses were flooded, and residents were seen salvaging belongings from their homes.
Those affected appealed to the government to urgently intervene and address the recurring flooding and its underlying causes.
One of the victims, Waziri Ahmed, said the flood destroyed virtually everything in his home, including foodstuff, documents, mattresses and livestock.
He said the floodwater rose to chest level, forcing residents to evacuate their children to safer locations.
Ahmed appealed to the government to assist affected families, many of whom, he said, had lost valuable property and sources of livelihood.
Another victim, Bamidele Ajayi, said floodwater filled her house and swept away her car and virtually everything she owned.
She said residents had been informed that mining activities had blocked the natural channel through which water was supposed to flow, causing the water to back up into residential areas.
Ajayi urged the government to take decisive action to address the problem and provide assistance to the victims.
She expressed frustration over what she described as repeated promises of government intervention without a lasting solution to the recurring flooding.
Although no loss of life was reported in the latest incident, residents called for urgent measures to clear blocked waterways, rehabilitate drainage infrastructure and regulate activities that may be contributing to flooding ahead of the peak of the rainy season.
But the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) has warned residents living along waterways, canals and riverbanks to relocate to safer and higher grounds following the incident, which displaced residents and damaged property.
The Director of Relief and Rehabilitation at NSEMA, Yusuf Mohammed, who spoke while assessing the extent of the damage, described the incident as an unexpected flash flood that occurred earlier than the period when serious flooding is normally anticipated in the state.
Mohammed said although the state had received warnings of possible heavy rainfall and flooding this year from various climate and flood forecasting agencies, including seasonal climate predictions and annual flood outlooks, the incident in the first week of August 2026 caught many residents by surprise.
He said NSEMA had already commenced sensitisation and awareness campaigns across communities in the state, particularly in areas close to canals and riverbanks, urging residents to remain vigilant and relocate to higher grounds whenever necessary.
According to him, the state usually experiences more serious flooding around late September and early October, making the latest incident unusual.
Mohammed also dismissed claims that the area had never experienced flooding of such magnitude, saying records showed that the M. I. Wushishi Housing Estate and surrounding communities had experienced serious flooding in previous years.
He attributed the worsening situation to several factors, including mining activities upstream and downstream of the affected area.
The NSEMA official explained that mining activities upstream had removed topsoil capable of absorbing excess rainwater, thereby increasing the volume and speed of water flowing downstream.
He added that mining activities downstream had also contributed to blockages along natural waterways, restricting the free flow of water.
Mohammed further blamed the poor maintenance of existing drainage infrastructure, noting that some sections of the canal had collapsed.
“What you are seeing in the background now is as a result of the bad flow of water that was blocked along this part by the activities of some of these miners,” he said.
The NSEMA official advised residents in the affected areas to relocate to safer locations where possible, warning that the existing canal may not be capable of carrying the volume of water expected during the rainy season.
He also raised concerns over town planning violations, saying some houses had been constructed too close to the canal and in areas that were not part of the original government-planned estate.
According to him, most of the structures affected were later developments outside the original government-planned areas.
He also identified a collapsed fence located at a bend in the canal as another factor that worsened the flooding.
Mohammed appealed to the Niger State Government to provide immediate assistance to residents whose homes and property were affected.