The North-East coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Muhammad Usman, says no fewer than 15 corpses have been recovered from flooded River Ngadabul in Maiduguri, Borno State capital.

In an interview on Wednesday, Mr Usman said the cases of drowned people in the flooded river that affected many communities along its banks in Maiduguri have been on the increase.

He urged parents and guardians to caution their wards and children against swimming in the river to avoid drowning.

Mr Usman said the incidents of flooding in the North-East have been alarming.

”NEMA as a disaster agency has been engaged in serious sensitisation of the public on dangers of flooding and precautionary measures.

“We have been having meetings with various stakeholders on sensitisation and providing relief materials to affected communities,” Mr Usman said.

Meanwhile, the Borno command of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), had deployed its personnel along the river banks to chase away children trooping to the river to take a swim.

The President, Major General Muhammadu (retd.), has said that Nigerians will appreciate the All progressives Congress-led government of the country in six months.

The President, who received members of the Progressive Governors’ Forum led by its Chairman and Governor of Kebbi State, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, stated this at the State House on Tuesday, where he also noted that there would be non-interference in the 2023 elections.

Buhari said Nigerians would be allowed to vote for who they wanted.

He said, “I want Nigerians to know that we respect them and for us to show that we will allow them to vote who they want.”

He expressed confidence that flowing from the elections in Ekiti and Osun states, the 2023 elections would also be transparent.

“We all witnessed what happened in Anambra, Ekiti and Osun States. What happened in those states gives me a lot of hope that we are succeeding,” Buhari said.

President Buhari also pledged that his administration would not create any room for the money bags to use any form of intimidation, be it materially, morally or physically to influence in the general election.

“We will not allow anyone to use personal resources or their influence to intimidate other Nigerians. We will not allow intimidation materially, morally or physically. This is the kind of leadership that can emerge and consolidate our nation.

“In six months, Nigerians will appreciate the government of the APC that we are sincere and we respect them.”

Tragedy has struck in Kaura village in Yabo Local Government Area of Sokoto State as seven family members died after eating breakfast.

The head of the family, Malam Danbala said that he lost his two wives and five children to the incident.

He said, “I was in Niger State where I work as a labourer when I received a call on Monday from one of my brothers that there was a problem which required my urgent attention at home.

“He asked me to come back home as soon as I could. I insisted on knowing what happened but he cut the call without making further comment.

“So I took the early morning bus to Sokoto and when I reached home, I discovered all members of my family with the exception of my little daughter were all gone. They were buried even before my arrival on Tuesday as our religion demanded.”

Danbala said that the problem started when one of his wives cooked a local delicacy called Dambu for their breakfast.

“They all ate to their satisfaction and after a while they started complaining of stomach pain and were all rushed to the hospital.

“The five children died first, followed by my wives who died around midnight but my little girl is responding to treatment because she did not eat much from the food,” he said.

According to an eyewitness account, the wife initially cooked the meal for their dinner on Sunday which she shared with neighbours.

It was said that the remnant of the food was kept for their breakfast and on Monday morning, she mixed the remnant food with a raw Dambu reportedly left uncovered throughout the night. She was said to have cooked the delicacy and served only members of the family.

A multi-storey building has collapsed in the city of Kano, leaving many people feared trapped under its rubbles.

The rescue operation is ongoing, according to the Kano State Fire Service.

Eight people have been rescued so far, according to Nura Abdullahi of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

The building is located at the GSM Market in the city, with several shops on the ground floor.

“The building was under construction but the ground floor was occupied,” Abdullahi said, adding that it is believed that people were shopping there when the building collapsed.

“We are not able to get a rough estimate of the number of people trapped,” he added.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has disclosed that the Nigerian military has recorded successes in neutralising bandits, terrorists and kidnappers in the country.

Mohammed said this while urging media practitioners to intensify efforts according to the priority of national interest in discharging their constitutional and professional duties.

He also noted that the marching order given by the president to security agents to hunt, pursue and speak to terrorists has started yielding positive results.

The minister made the call on Tuesday in Kano at the opening of a two-day National Conference on Culture, Peace and National Security: “The role of the media”, organised by the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO).

Mohammed was represented by the Director, International Cultural Relations in the ministry, Mrs Maimuna Idu-Lah.

“It is against this background that the role of critical stakeholders, especially the media, cannot be overemphasised.

“Skewed reporting, as well as the phenomenon of fake news, hate speech and misinformation, has the capacity to worsen the security situation.

“They do not only create fear among the citizens but can also adversely affect the morale of our security personnel.

“We, therefore, appeal to our media practitioners to accord national interest priority in the discharge of their constitutional and professional duties,” he said.

“The military has recorded successes in neutralising bandits, terrorists, kidnappers and other criminals across the country,” he added.

Mohammed said apart from investing heavily in purchasing security equipment, Mr President had sent to the National Assembly bills on the transmission of explosives, as well as control of small arms and light weapons.