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Maiduguri Flooding: 30 Dead, 400,000, Homes Impacted

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This screenshot shows the aerial view of houses submerged under water in Maiduguri on September 10, 2024. Credit: Chima Onwe/UNOCHA

 

Severe flooding in the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri has claimed at least 30 lives and forced 400,000 people from their homes, officials said Wednesday.

 

“The death toll is 30,” National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) spokesman Ezekiel Manzo told AFP a day after water from an overflowing dam swept away thousands of homes in the capital city of Borno state.

 

“The situation in Maiduguri is quite frightening,” said Manzo’s NEMA colleague Zubaida Umar.

 

“The flood has taken over around 40 percent of the entire city. People have been forced out of their homes and are scattered everywhere.

 

“From our statistics, we have 414,000 displaced people,” Umar said. He told the BBC’s Hausa language service that officials feared that number could reach one million.

This screenshot shows the aerial view of houses submerged under water in Maiduguri on September 10, 2024. (Credit: Chima Onwe/UNOCHA)

The UN refugee agency in Nigeria said on X Tuesday the flooding was the worst to hit the city in 30 years.

 

 ‘Scattered everywhere’

Maiduguri, at the epicentre of a more than decade-long jihadist insurgency, serves as the hub for the responses to the humanitarian crisis in the northeast.

This screenshot shows the aerial view of houses submerged under water in Maiduguri on September 10, 2024. Credit: Chima Onwe/UNOCHA

 

The crisis was caused by the rupture of the Alau dam on the Ngadda River, 20 kilometres (12 miles) south of Maiduguri over the weekend.

 

According to NEMA, more than 23,000 households, and upwards of 150,000 people, were hit by the subsequent rapid rise of waters.

 

“We have also sent our mobile clinics with medical supplies along with medical doctors from the military hospital to attend to the displaced in the camps who need medical care,” said Umar.

 

“This is important because the main hospital in Maiduguri has also been affected by the flood.

 

“We have provided canoes and fishermen who have been going into flooded communities and rescuing residents who are trapped,” she added.

 

“We have deployed our water trucks to provide clean water because we are concerned about the possible outbreak of water-borne diseases.”

 

“I never pray for even my enemy to experience such a thing,” said one resident, Aisha Aliyu, who had managed to reach one of eight camps NEMA has opened to take in survivors.

 

 “Nowhere to go”

Another resident, Maryam Musa, said: “I have nowhere to go,” adding that she had lost track of her relatives.

 

“I haven’t seen any of them, even my siblings, both young and old, and I can’t reach them on the phone. We are appealing to the governor to help us.”

This screenshot shows the aerial view of houses submerged under water in Maiduguri on September 10, 2024. Credit: Chima Onwe/UNOCHA

 

Borno state governor Babagana Umara Zulum said after visiting one of the displacement camps that authorities had decided to give each household 10,000 naira (some $6) and would be distributing food and non-food aid.

 

The authorities would need to rebuild and strengthen the dam, he added.

Vice President Kashim Shettima, who hails from Maiduguri, visited the area on Tuesday.

 

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu offered his “condolences” to those hit by the disaster.

 

Since the start of the rainy season in Africa’s most populous country, floods have killed 229 people and forced more than 380,000 people to flee, according to NEMA’s figures.

 

The torrential rains have also least 107,600 hectares (265,000 acres) of farmland were also damaged by the torrential rains.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AFP

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Transfer: Real Madrid , Cucurella Reach Verbal Agreement 

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Chelsea reliable defender, Marc Cucurella may join Spanish giant, Real Madrid before the end of the current transfer window.if information from transfer journalist, Fabrizio Romano are anything to go by.

 

Romano In a latest transfer update, said Real Madrid has reached verbal agreement to sign Marc Cucurella from Chelsea.

“Verbal agreement in place between all parties, player too — he’s the left back wanted by Mourinho” the update read.

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Hakimi, Vinicius Barred From Speaking Spanish At World Cup

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FIFA has come under scrutiny after several high-profile players, including Achraf Hakimi and Vinicius Junior, were discouraged from speaking Spanish during media engagements at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States.

 

The issue first surfaced ahead of Morocco’s Group C clash with Brazil when a Spanish-speaking journalist attempted to question Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi in Spanish.

Despite Hakimi, who grew up in Madrid and speaks the language fluently, indicating he was comfortable answering in Spanish, event officials reportedly insisted that questions be asked in English.

Hakimi attempted to reassure organizers that language would not be a barrier, but officials maintained that no Spanish translator was available for the session. A compromise was eventually reached, with the reporter asking the question in Spanish while Hakimi responded in English.

The controversy intensified during Brazil’s media session when Vinicius Junior was also interrupted while responding to a question in Spanish.

The Real Madrid forward, who is more comfortable speaking Portuguese or Spanish than English, was reportedly asked by organizers to switch languages.

Rather than continue in Spanish, Vinicius opted to answer in Portuguese before turning his attention back to Brazil’s World Cup preparations.

The incidents sparked widespread debate among journalists and fans, many of whom questioned why Spanish—a language spoken by millions across North America—was effectively restricted at a tournament being hosted largely in the United States.

According to Spanish media outlet El País, FIFA only provides Spanish-language translation services at World Cup press conferences involving Spanish-speaking nations such as Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia, Ecuador, and Paraguay.

For all other teams, questions and answers are expected to be conducted either in English or the official language of the participating country.

The policy has generated criticism online, with many supporters arguing that multilingual communication should be encouraged at a global event like the World Cup.

The backlash was particularly strong in Vinicius’ case, as the Brazilian forward appeared visibly uncomfortable being asked to communicate in English.

The controversy overshadowed what was otherwise a highly anticipated encounter between Brazil and Morocco, which ended in a 1-1 draw.

With the issue now drawing international attention, FIFA may face increasing calls to review its media language guidelines as the tournament progresses.

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It’s Illegal’…Falana’s Bombshell Indicts Govs, FG.

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Human rights advocate, Femi Falana, has warned federal and state governments against negotiating with and rewarding terrorists.

 

According to Falana, the practice is illegal.

He stated this while delivering the keynote address at the Amnesty International Second Annual General Meeting in Abuja on June 13, 2026.

Falana claimed it is public knowledge officials of the Federal Government and some State Governments have been holding meetings and negotiating with terrorists and bandits, which has led to thousands of ‘repentant’ criminals being forgiven and given cash gifts of undisclosed sums of money.

Asserting that the “satanic Boko Haram sect and similar bodies have been proscribed” under the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, Falana insisted that “their members and allies shall be prosecuted and not pampered and forgiven by the Nigerian State.”

Highlighting the legal consequences, he quoted Section 22 of the Act, stating: “A person who knowingly—(a) arranges, manages, assists in arranging or managing, participates in a meeting or an activity, which in his knowledge is concerned or connected with an act of terrorism or terrorist group, (b) collects, or provides logistics, equipment, information, articles or facilities for a meeting or an activity, which in his knowledge is concerned or connected with an act of terrorism or terrorist group, or (c) attends a meeting, which in his knowledge is to support a proscribed entity or to further the objectives of a proscribed entity, commits an offence, and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term of at least 20 years.”

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