from EMEKA OKONKWO in Abuja, Nigeria
Nigeria Bureau
ABUJA, (CAJ News) – SOME 940 children enrolled in Islamic schools remain unaccounted for amid recent floods in northern Nigeria.
On May 29, intense overnight rainfall triggered one of the most catastrophic flash floods in Nigeria’s recent history, devastating Mokwa in Niger State.
Some 700 people are feared dead.
The United Nations Children’ Fund (UNICEF) this week confirmed uncertainty over more than 900 children following the floods.
Northern Nigeria is largely Muslim, in Africa’s most populous country that is 50-50 Christian and Muslim.
Recent floods in the state of Niger overwhelmed local infrastructure.
The disaster displaced over 3 000 people. Assessment reports confirmed that at least 265 households were directly affected, with many families losing their homes, livestock, food supplies and farmlands.
Among the displaced are hundreds of children, many now sheltering with friends and relatives in nearby communities.
Urgent humanitarian needs include access to safe drinking water, as floodwaters contaminated existing boreholes.
Widespread open defecation has raised serious concerns about potential outbreaks of waterborne diseases.
Education to over 1 200 school-aged children has been disrupted because of the floods.
– CAJ News