Residents of Omoku community in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area in Rivers State have cried out for help as they continue to combat displacement, insecurity, illnesses and heavy flooding due to the overflow of water from Cameroon’s Lagdo Dam.

Gloria Adie, an Omoku resident, told FIJ on Monday that there was a kidnap incident at the Internally Displaced Persons’ (IDP) camp that was recently created for the inhabitants of the community on Sunday.

“Some guys came to one of the primary schools serving as an IDP camp yesterday (Sunday) to kidnap two children,” Adie said.

“None of the children is missing because the kidnappers were caught and handed over to the authorities. No security at all, no light. So, when it gets dark, it becomes a forest.”

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The resident also said that her entire household has continued to suffer from flood as a result of heavy rainfall in the area.

She said Omoku community began experiencing severe flooding in early October and that the situation became worse with time.

“Omoku has a history of flooding in the past years, there is a river nearby. But the flooding has not been this bad, not even the massive 2012 floods were as terrible as this. It’s a disaster this year, it’s not a regular flood. We’ve not seen something like this before. This is the worst flooding situation ever experienced,” Adie told FIJ.

“Almost half of Omoku has evacuated. The government has been directing us on where to go to after we were forced to abandon our homes since last week. These camps were just opened on Saturday. This flood has been a serious challenge for the past one week and people all over the state have continued to get displaced because of it.

“There is no food and the children are already getting sick. There also pregnant women who are already sick. Old people with no mosquito nets, sleeping on the floor.”

Adie also said most of the displaced persons are her friends and neighbours. She has also been changing locations with her family because of the situation of things.

“The water is yet to recede in our community. The level is still very high. The flooding situation has also spread to other parts of the community. We are currently surrounded by water here and this is the third place we have moved to because of the flooding. Soon, this place will be flooded. It is not easy, especially with little children and old people.

“The government posted its advisory statement on Facebook but we are still looking for relief. No one is concerned about their property or compensation. There is no food for them to eat. At the moment, everybody has forgotten about what they lost, we just want to survive this.”

Omoku with over 200 oil wells is clearly a joke💔🤦🏿

This is the reality of the flood victims of Omoku, River state.#nigeriaflood

— Mrs Zanga 🔥❣️ (@MrsZanga) October 16, 2022

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Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGA shares boundaries with Imo, Delta, Bayelsa, Abia and Akwa Ibom states. Some communities in Bayelsa and Delta also currently face similar challenges.

Adie told FIJ that inhabitants in neighbouring communities are presently trapped because they are surrounded by the overflowing currents of flood water.

The federal ministry of humanitarian affairs has said that states such as Rivers should expect the flooding to continue till the end of November.

Nigeria’s ongoing flood crisis has claimed 603 lives and displaced 1,302,589 persons so far.

FIJ sent a mail to the Rivers State official email address for comments on plans to help victims like Adie, but it had received no response as of press time.