The residents of Mokwa Local Government Area in Niger State are mourning their losses following a devastating flood on May 29, 2025, that claimed over 150 lives and destroyed more than 3,000 homes.
The flood, which came without heavy rainfall, is widely suspected by locals to have resulted from the release of water from the Kainji Dam.
Among those affected is AbdulGafar, a newly married man who said he and his wife lost everything — including all the items his wife brought into the marriage.
The flood destroyed their home, washed away personal belongings, and even damaged a building he was constructing.
“I just got married in February 2025. My wife and I lost everything we had.
“My family is homeless now. We are hopeless. We don’t have anything left.
“We have to start from scratch. We are thankful that our lives are saved, but we lost everything. It is hard. It’s a difficult time for me and my family.
“And this is happening to me. It is very, very terrible for me to bear. It is not easy. I lost parts of my investment, my goods, my personal belongings, my clothes, my money, and everything.
“The flood also damaged part of my under construction building. In fact, I lost a lot of values, which we just pray we recover from. But it is a difficult time for me.
“In short, all my houses are down. I was unable to bring out any of my belongings, nothing, even something as small as a pin.
I lost everything to the flood.”
Another victim, Salihu Suleiman, said the flood swept away not only his home but also a large sum of money and bags of farm produce he had kept in storage after recent sales.
He expressed disbelief over the speed and scale of the water’s impact.
Both victims believe the flood was unnatural. They insist it was not caused by rainfall, as there had been no heavy downpour before the incident.
“I believe the flood is not as a result of rainfall. If it was rain it would have affected us in the middle of the night or the flood could have come at midnight. It is terrible that we are witnessing this thing in our lives.”
“We’ve not had it this bad. We’ve been experiencing erosion, a serious one of that.
But this is the worst we’ve ever experienced. And I can categorically say that this is not rain.
“But water, which we can actually link to the Kainji Dam, because it was a heavy flood that came.”
“This flood is not from rain water because there was not that heavy downpour a day before the devastating incident.
“Around 6am, I and my wife woke up to pray subh prayer (morning prayer) to prayed and went back to sleep and 4 to 5 minutes later my mom came knocking at the door she was shouting come out tell your wife to come out and I rushed out she was like water is coming I should call my wife and I called her we ran we ran out that would not pick anything I came out with only my singlet and boxers alone without picking anything not even my phone.”
Earlier reports by SaharaReporters confirmed that over 150 bodies had been recovered by Sartuday. The flooding left thousands stranded and submerged farmlands and entire communities in Mokwa.
The Kainji Dam, located on the Niger River near New Bussa in Niger State, is one of the largest in West Africa and serves as a major source of hydroelectric power, irrigation, and water supply.
