Bus Driver, 2 Brothers Washed Away By Flood In Ilorin

No fewer than three people were feared dead in a downpour that destroyed property worth millions of naira and rendered hundreds of people homeless overnight in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, reports that two brothers identified as Basil and Gafal, aged four and three and half respectively, lost their lives while an Abuja-bound bus driver also died in the flood.

NAN correspondent who visited the scene of the flood along Ajase-Ipo Road, Ilorin, reports that over 30 vehicles were damaged due to the heavy flood caused by blocked canal.

A resident of the area, Alhaji Ganiyu Suleiman of Alawari Motors, said that the bus driver, having arrived in Ilorin late, decided to sleep in his vehicle, and was washed away together with the bus.

Not less than eight houses around a hotel along the road were affected as many occupants of the buildings were seen salvaging their belongings from the debris.

Clothes, kitchen utensils and other household items were being retrieved from the collapsed buildings by despondent residents.

Many of the damaged vehicles were washed away by the force of the flood while many also somersaulted.

According to Suleiman, about 10 refrigerators packed in front of an electronics and fridge shop were also washed away by the flood.

Also, many water tanks and PVC pipes belonging to a building materials dealer were washed away or damaged by the flood.

Many of the residents who spoke with NAN said the flood was caused by the blocked canal.

Suleiman appealed to the state government to expand the canal to allow for free flow of water whenever there was rainfall.

Meanwhile, the Kwara Commissioner for Environment, Alhaji Abubakar Morah, who visited the scene, sympathised with the victims of the flood disaster.

Morah said that the state government would find a lasting solution to flooding in the area.