Bayelsa, Taraba, Adamawa, Edo, Delta, Benue, Nassarawa, Kogi, and Anambra State have been advised to immediately activate emergency responses following the release of Cameroon’s Lagdo Dam.

Mustapha Ahmed, the director general of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), made the announcement at a press briefing in Abuja on Saturday, stating that 28 people had lost their lives so far, 48,168 people have been displaced in 13 out of 36 states and 159,157 affected already.

Ahmed noted that the emergency response was necessary to avert a flooding disaster, as the flow of water from the dam was expected to continue until the end of October.

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According to Ahmed, riverine communities and farmlands along the banks of the River Benue in Adamawa, Taraba, and Benue states have already recorded sudden increased inundation.

“The situation is expected to be replicated in the downstream states of Taraba, Benue, Nassarawa, Kogi, Anambra, Edo, Delta, and Bayelsa as the River Benue joins the River Niger and flows to the Atlantic Ocean through the Niger Delta,” he said.

Flood waters have already displaced several residents in Adamawa, Taraba, and Benue states along the flood plains of the River Benue, according to Ahmed, and farmlands and valuable infrastructure are at risk of being washed away by flood waters.

He did, however, state that the agency would continue to provide updates as it received more status reports from the Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET) and the emergency management agencies of frontline states.

Lagdo is a hydroelectric dam located in the northern province of Cameroon. FIJ learned that it was built between August 1977 and July 1982 to supply electricity to a part of the country and irrigate several hectares of crops. FIJ learned that the Cameroonian authorities wrote to NEMA in August on their plan to open the dam.