148 Killed By Floods -Red Cross …Mass Exodus, As Gunmen Kill 40 In Mubi

President Goodluck Jonathan (middle) flanked by Vice President Namadi Sambo (4th left), Senate President David (2nd Mark(2nd right), former Vice President, Alex Ekwueme (right) and others as he cuts the anniversary cake in Abuja, on Monday

The Head, Disaster Management, Nigerian Red Cross Society
(NRCS), Mr Umar Mairiga,  said yesterday
that 148 people had died as a result of flooding in 21 states of the
federation.

Mairiga told a news briefing in Abuja that 64,000 others had
been rendered homeless by the floods, adding that about 10,000 victims had been
targeted for assistance.

He said that heavy rains in recent weeks had caused
widespread destruction and forced many families into makeshift camps.

According to him, an estimated 134,000 people had now been
affected by the floods and that concern was growing about the spread of
waterborne diseases such as cholera.

“We are targeting 10,000 people in 10 locations of Adamawa,
Taraba, Kogi, Plateau, Katsina, Cross River, Jigawa, Kogi, Benue and Edo,” he
said.

Mairiga explained that in response to the worsening crisis,
the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) had
launched an emergency appeal for funds.

The decision, he said, was to aid the Nigerian Red Cross
Society to assist 10,000 victims.

According to him, a Field Assessment and Coordination Team
(FACT) and a Regional Disaster Response Team (RDRT) have been deployed to
support the relief effort.

He said that N33.5 million had been provided from the IFRC’s
Disaster Relief Emergency Fund to start the operation.

“The NRCS, with support from the IFRC and other partners,
has been distributing food and non-food items, including mosquito nets, shelter
tool kits, tarpaulins, hygiene kits and kitchen sets to affected families.

“Volunteers from the organisation are also carrying out
awareness-raising campaigns for people at risk from water borne diseases,’’ he
said.

Mairiga explained that one of the major concerns was the
development of a serious health situation due to the spread of water borne
diseases such as gastro-enteritis..

He also commended the National Emergency Management Agency
(NEMA) for its “untiring’’ efforts in handling flood issues.

Meanwhile, three persons were feared dead and several others
injured in a heavy flooding which ravaged parts of Ogba Egbema/Ndoni Local
Government Area.

Among the dead are, seven year old boy who was swept away by
the flood into the River Niger and two elderly women from Obrikom and Ndoni,
respectively who drowned while returning from farm.

Apart from the deaths the floods also destroyed farmlands.
Worst affected communities include, Ebocha, Ndoni, Okwuzi, Obrikom, Idu and
parts of Omoku communities.

At Ebocha, residents told The Tide that, reptiles such as
snakes and crocodiles are now occupying their houses.

Meanwhile, the Rivers State Government has described the
flood which ravaged  parts of
OgbaEgbema/Ndoni Local Government Area as one of the worst disasters in the
state.

The Commissioner for Special Duties, Engr Emeka Nworgu who
said this during an inspection of the affected communities said that the
government is touched by the devastating effects of the flooding.

Engr Nworgu said that the
state government would work out modalities towards assisting the flood
victims.

The commissioner, however said that the level of devastation
has underscored the need for the federal government to come to the aid of the
victims.

“At this point, the state can do very little, we asked that
the federal government should come to our aid here’ he said.

Also speaking, the Chairman of Ogba Egbema/Ndoni Local
Government Area, Hon Raymond Nwokacho said that the counsel will take inventory
of those affected by the flooding with a view to assisting them.

Hon Nwokocha also said that the level of disaster is beyond
the capacity of  the local government
council and urged for the support of the federal and  state government.

In a related development, at least 40 people, mostly
students, have been killed by unknown gunmen in Mubi, Adamawa State officials
say.

Most of the dead are said to be students of Federal
Polytechnic, Mubi.

A college spokesman said 40 students had been killed, while
a local resident said that more than 40 people had been shot dead or stabbed.

A lecturer, who spoke to newsmen confirmed seeing about 40
dead bodies after the shooting

The killings came days after a major operation against the
Boko Haram militant group in the town.

National Emergency Management Agency spokesman Yushua Shuaib
told our correspondent  that it was not
clear whether the attack was the work of Boko Haram, or the result of a dispute
between rival political groups at the university.

A Red Cross official who gave a conservative estimate, said
at least, 10 people had died.

Our correspondent recalls that mobile phone masts in the
area were recently attacked by unidentified militants, so getting information
from Mubi is difficult.

A resident, who did not want his name to be used, said that
men in military uniform went to a hall of residence away from the campus just
before midnight, got the students out of their rooms and ordered them to say
their names.

Some were then shot dead and others stabbed with knives, and
their bodies left in lines outside the buildings.

He said it was not clear why some were killed and others
spared – some of the dead were Muslims and others Christians.

He added that students and lecturers were now leaving the
town, many with tree branches over their cars – a traditional sign of
neutrality in Nigeria.

Other Mubi residents say they heard gunfire for about two
hours during the night and that those living near the hostel were also
targeted.

The authorities have imposed an indefinite curfew in the
town and ordered residents to stay indoors.

The university has been temporarily closed.

Meanwhile, the Adamawa State Police Public Relations
Officers, Mohammed Ibrahim, who confirmed the killings, said 25 people were
killed by the gunmen, 19 of them, polytechnic students.

Similarly, the killing of students of Federal Polytechnic
Mubi at Yelwan Tsamiya (an off-campus accommodation area) in Wuro Patuji area
of Mubi North Local Government of Adamawa state has caused an exodus from the
town by both students and staff of the institution.

Some of the fleeing lecturers of the polytechnic, said they
saw at least 10 truckloads of soldiers and mobile police men moving into the
troubled North-Eastern town.

After the killings, which were said to have been carried out
around 10pm by gunmen that stormed the students’ village in Sports Utility
Vehicles (SUVs), angry students stormed the school carrying leaves and branches
in protest, stopping the second semester exams that were scheduled to take
place today.

As a result of the mass movement of people from the town,
the vehicles in the town’s motor park have been exhausted, with those not lucky
to board the polytechnic’s buses ferrying people to Mararaba area, trekking the
15-20 kilometres distance to get vehicles that will move them out of the town.