“This is evidence of lawlessness, corruption and impunity. Storm water from rainfall around trademore estate, airport road, Abuja,” an engineer said at the weekend over the flood that ravaged parts of the Federal Capital City, famed for its adherence to strict standards; but notorious, according to some other accounts, for ignoring standards regard Flood valleys and plains.
Meanwhile a corpse, according to a report by Premium Times, has been recovered from Trademore estate, Abuja, flood. The estate is notorious for yearly flooding and tragedies.
The corpse was recovered from the canal by the entrance of Trademore Estate in Abuja following the flood incident that occurred in the area on Friday.
The estate, located in the Lugbe axis of the capital city, along the airport road, was flooded after a downpour in the early hours of Friday.
During a visit to the estate on Saturday morning, PREMIUM TIMES observed that several houses, vehicles, shops and other properties were damaged by the flood.
At about 12:30 p.m. while our reporters were engaging residents of the estate, residents discovered a corpse stuck beneath the drain pathway by the entrance of the estate.
Alhaji Ashiru, an inspector of police newly posted to the area and who was narrating how he has lost all his properties to the flood, rushed to pull out the corpse from the canal with the help of other residents around.
Several residents identified the body to be that of a man they saw struggling to come out of a sky-blue Peugeot 406 vehicle when the flood started.
“We saw him on the top of his vehicle trying to avoid the flood, but later we did not see him again,” a motorcyclist recalled after the corpse was pulled out.
Audu Faruk, a resident and witness of the flood disaster, said he saw several bodies being dragged away by the flood but he could only rescue a few.
He said he was sleeping when the flood started, and all of a sudden he saw his bed floating.
“ …Then I rushed out and saw water everywhere. I rescued a heavily pregnant woman and children but some people were carried away,” Mr Faruk told PREMIUM TIMES.
Upon witnessing the recovery of the body, our reporters called the attention of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
The spokesperson of NEMA, Manzo Ezekiel, assured that the agency will reinforce its officers to the estate with immediate effect to continue searching for other missing persons.
Mr Ezekiel said NEMA is also collaborating with other agencies and residents of the area to prevent further disaster.
The residents of the estate witness such floods annually during the rainy season. Last year, several fatalities were recorded from a similar incident with residents describing it as the worst in the last decade.
As of the time of this report, several residents and business owners were seen gathering damaged items.
▪︎ Additional report by Premium Times