Latest news with #NorthernNigeria
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Over 100 killed as torrential rain unleashes floods in northern Nigeria
The flooding, caused by torrents of predawn rain, have killed at least 111 people in a market town where northern Nigerian farmers sell their wares to traders from the south, officials said Friday, predicting the death toll would grow. The Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency did not immediately say how much rain fell after midnight Thursday. Communities in northern Nigeria have been experiencing prolonged dry spells worsened by climate change and excessive rainfall that leads to severe flooding during the brief wet season. In videos and photos on social media, floodwaters were seen covering entire neighbourhoods and homes were submerged, with their roofs barely visible above the brown coloured waters. Waist-deep in water, residents tried to salvage what they could, or rescue others. 'We lost many lives, and the properties, our farm produce. Those that have their storage have lost it,' Kazeem Muhammed, a Mokwa resident, said. Besides the 111 confirmed dead, 'more bodies have just been brought and are yet to be counted,' Niger state emergency agency spokesman IIbrahim Audu Husseini said. Mokwa community leader Aliki Musa said the villagers are not used to such flooding. 'The water is like spiritual water which used to come but it's seasonal,' said Musa. 'It can come now (and) it will reach another twenty years before coming again." The chairman of the Mokwa local government area, Jibril Muregi, told local news website Premium Times that construction of flood-control works was long overdue. 'This critical infrastructure is essential to mitigating future flood risks and protecting lives and property,' he said. In September, torrential rains and a dam collapse in the northeastern city of Maiduguri caused severe flooding that left at least 30 people dead and displaced millions, worsening the humanitarian crisis caused by the Boko Haram insurgency.
BBC News
13-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Villagers tori how thousands turn refugees, communities become ghost town as notorious bandit Bello Turji give dem eviction notice for Sokoto
Pipo from several villages for Isa Local Government area for Sokoto State, northern Nigeria, don leave dia homes after dem say notorious bandit leader tell dem to comot witin few days or im go attack. Di bandits tell dem to comot afta dem attack some villages for di local government on Saturday. Di villages wey di bandits attack and sack for dia communities na Sududdubu, Galadima, Tsulawa, and Bafarawa, wey be village of former oGvnor of Sokoto State, Attahiru Bafarawa. Reports say fear make some pipo for di communities comot go inside main town for Isa local goment for Sokoto, while odas run go Shinkafi local goment for Zamfara state as refugees. According to one Bashir Altine, wey dey live around Isa local goment area, e tok say di bandits attack na revenge for recent army attacks on bandits for di area. "Bello Turji and im boys dey in control of Sabon Birni and Isa local goments, and dem don dey terrorise dat area for years." "I fit tell you say more dan 30 villages don become ghost communities sake of di fear for dia lives," Altine tok. E add say, "na di bandits demself come direct to those villages come tell dem say make dem comot." Anoda resident for one of di villages tell BBC Pidgin say na Bello Turji pipo come dia village dey collect anytin wey get value and tell dem say make dem comot before dem come back. 'Afta soldiers comot, Bello Turji pipo come our village dey collect anytin wey get value from our hand. And dem tell us say make we comot if we wan live.' E add say, 'Di bandits kill seven to eight pipo during dia attack, while 20 odas bin injure.' "We don already tell di authority our situation sake of say we no get any security personnel for our village." According to di pipo wey comot from dia villages, dem tok say dem don dey live in fear for di past years becos of plenty attacks from bandits for dia region for Sokoto State, northern Nigeria. Police tok-tok persin for Sokoto, Rufa'i Ahmad, tell BBC Pidgin say di police no receive any official complaints from dat area, but e tok say deployment dey for di area. "Regarding dia mata, we never receive any official complaints from di pipo for dat area," Ahmad tok. But e add say since last week, Thursday and Friday, deployment don dey for dat area. Ahmad add say, "Since before dis incident wey pipo dey tok, deployment don already dey dat area. Sometin new fit happun wey we no know, dat na why e dey very important for residents to update us on wetin dey happun for dia areas." "As I dey now, we dey work and collaborate wit oda security personal to tackle insecurity kasala for dat region" E urge pipo for areas wey dey experience insecurity to dey update security pipo with informant so dem fit help dem well.
Zawya
08-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
FG signs financing pact for $158mln value chain programme in Northern Nigeria
The Federal Government has signed a $158.15 million financing agreement with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to launch the Value Chain Programme in Northern Nigeria (VCN), an ambitious initiative aimed at transforming the agricultural sector and improving the livelihoods of over 3.1 million rural dwellers. The eight-year programme, co-funded by IFAD, the French Development Agency (AFD), and the Nigerian government, targets nine northern states—Borno, Bauchi, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Jigawa, Sokoto, Yobe, and Zamfara—with interventions focused on value addition, food security, and poverty reduction. The signing ceremony, held Wednesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, was witnessed by Vice President Kashim Shettima, who described the programme as a strategic intervention aligned with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's Renewed Hope Agenda. 'This is an investment of faith in the North—not as a region of deficits, but one of abundance,' Shettima declared. 'The VCN is a declaration of our promise to reduce poverty, nourish our people, and restore dignity to Nigeria's farming families.' He noted that the programme would complement the recently launched Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZs), serving as a pipeline for quality raw materials and boosting the export of value-added goods. The VP also highlighted the programme's inclusive focus, targeting underserved groups—women, youth, persons with disabilities, and returnees—while leveraging digital tools for transparency and impact tracking across the agricultural value chain. Former Senate President Ahmed Lawan, who spoke on behalf of the National Assembly, pledged legislative support to ensure the programme's success, calling it 'a transformative step for rural Nigeria.' Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, described the initiative as a milestone in Nigeria's quest to revamp its agricultural sector, noting that the partnership with sub-nationals underscores a shared commitment to inclusive growth. Also speaking, IFAD Country Director, Mrs Dede Ekoue, said the project aims to boost climate-smart agriculture, post-harvest value addition, financial inclusion, and job creation—with over 30,000 jobs projected and 229 km of access roads to be constructed. Governors of Borno, Jigawa, and Katsina states, along with deputy governors from other beneficiary states, pledged their commitment to the programme and urged implementers to consider adjusting timelines for optimal benefit. The highlight of the event was the signing of a Joint Roadmap for Accelerated Start-up between the federal government and IFAD. Also in attendance were members of the National Assembly, the Minister of State for Regional Development, Hon. Uba Maigari Ahmadu, IFAD's Regional Director Mr. Bernard Mwinyel Hien, and other development partners.
