Incessant rain wreaks havoc on Lagos, Ogun

The rain that has been falling for the past 10 days in Lagos and Ogun states claimed two lives on Tuesday as a newly-wed teenager and a gatekeeper were killed in the states.

While the teenager, 16-year-old Faisa, was killed in the Agidingbi, Ikeja area of Lagos State, the gatekeeper, 27-year-old Joshua Moses, was electrocuted on the River Valley Estate, in the Ojodu Berger area of Ogun State.

 PUNCH Metro learnt that Faisa was killed by a mudslide, which was said to have occurred due to the incessant rain.

Faisa and her husband, Muhammed, were reportedly married about 10 days ago in their village in Goza, Borno State, and had relocated to Lagos.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the deceased was alone in the house when the incident happened.

The corpse was recovered by officials of the State Environmental Health Monitoring Unit, who responded to a distress call.

Also present at the scene were officials of the National Emergency Management Agency, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Rapid Response Squad and the Lagos State Building Control Agency.

One of our correspondents, who visited the scene, gathered that the slum, which was on Dosumu Street, off Amara Olu Road, Agidingbi, was inhabited by Borno State residents who fled their homes to seek refuge from Boko Haram attacks.

It was also learnt that there were about 100 people staying in the slum, popularly called Kurata.

A resident, Umaru Mate, said the mudslide occurred around 10am, adding that three shanties were destroyed by the impact.

He said, “I went out very early this morning and returned around 10am. I was about going into my house when I heard a loud noise.

“About 20 of us rushed there and saw that three houses had been destroyed by the mudslide. We were able to rescue a man, Umar, his wife and their five children.

“The woman that died just got married to her husband in the village. They have not stayed up to 10 days in this place.”

Another resident, Hassan Aji, appealed to the government to find a better place for them.

He said, “We are all from Borno State. We left our villages because of Boko Haram. We relocated here about two years ago. Our villages are deserted. As I speak with you, I don’t know where my mother is. I have two wives and seven children and if the government sends us away from here, I don’t know where to go.”

Ibrahim Aliu, another resident, said they paid N24,000 per year as rent to some men who claimed to be working for the Lagos State Government.

The General Manager of LASEMA, Michael Akindele, said the slum was not habitable.

He said, “Three persons were discovered trapped in the mud.  The agency’s emergency response team was able to rescue two of them, while the third victim was recovered dead.

“The area is a buffer zone which is not good for human settlement. The Lagos State Government has been sensitising people staying in flood-prone areas and wetland to vacate such areas to avert loss of lives especially, during this rainy season.”

The spokesperson for NEMA, South-West Zone, Ibrahim Farinloye, said, “It is a mudslide which collapsed on shanties in the slum. A woman, 16-year-old Faisa, who got wedded about 10 days ago, was killed.”

The River Valley Estate incident occurred on Abiodun Bada Street, and PUNCH Metro learnt that the gatekeeper, Moses, was electrocuted at about 6.30am.

It was learnt that he had opened the gate for his employer to drive out when an electric pole fell on him.

PUNCH Metro gathered the rain had weakened the foundation of the pole which made it to fall on Moses, who reportedly resumed work in the apartment on Monday.

One of our correspondents gathered that immediately the pole fell on him, the gatekeeper was electrocuted.

The incident was reported at the Ojodu Abiodun Police Division, which sent operatives to remove the corpse from the scene.

A resident, who identified himself only as Yemisi, said the electricity distribution company had restored power to the estate a few minutes before the incident.

He said, “The gatekeeper was employed on Monday. He had opened the gate for his boss around 6am. It was raining at that time, and as he made way to close the gate, an electric pole fell and the high-tension wires fell on him.”

One of our correspondents learnt that the rainfall, which lasted for about 12 hours in several areas in Lagos and Ogun states, forced some residents to abandon their houses as a result of floods.

Several streets visited by PUNCH Metro in the Egbeda and Idimu areas of Lagos State were flooded as human and vehicular movements were also suspended.

One of our correspondents observed that many houses on Jimoh Street in Egbeda, Disu Akogun Street in Dopemu, Agege area, Jimoh Akinremi Street in Akowonjo, and Iju Road, Fagba area, were flooded.

A resident of Dopemu, identified only as Adeyemi, said his neighbours had packed out of their houses as the rooms were flooded.

He said, “As I managed to leave the house around 10am for my workplace, some of my neighbours whose rooms were submerged had already begun to leave their apartments. All the cars and buses parked on the street were submerged in water.”

A residentof Ijegun in the Isheri Osun area, identified as Bose Salau, said, “The flood mostly affected Gafaru Street. It filled the entire street.”

Our correspondent learnt that Afolabi Street along the LASU/Iyana Iba Expressway, as well as Idi-Araba area in Mushin were affected by the flood.

The Ogun State acting Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Abimbola Oyeyemi, confirmed the death of the gatekeeper.

He said, “The occupant of the apartment reported the electrocution to the police. The corpse has been deposited at the Mainland Hospital morgue in the Yaba area of Lagos State.”