Flood sweeps man into river in Kwara

A 65-year-old man, Mr. Kehinde Ajongolo, was on Tuesday night swept into river at Akerebiata, Ilorin, Kwara State, after a downpour.

The rain, which started about 5.45pm and lasted till 8.15pm, flooded many parts of the metropolis. The flooding cut off the link road between Sobi Barracks and the adjourning communities around Akerebiata.

A building materials dealer, was on his way home when the flood swept him into the river, leading to his death.

His relative, Isa Ajongolo, told journalists in Ilorin on Wednesday that he spoke with the deceased on the phone before the rain started.

He said when he waited for Kehinde and did not see him, he tried his mobile telephone number but it indicated that it was not “reachable.”

Isa said after repeatedly calling the line and could not reach the deceased, he quickly alerted other relatives.

He said a search party that was later organised found the deceased’s motorcycle in the river and also saw his corpse about one kilometre away.

Isa said, “This is a tragedy. My uncle was a very peaceful and compassionate man. We are really in pain over his sudden and painful death.

“We are all mourning now because of this terrible incident. My uncle lost his twin brother a few years back and now we have lost him. What a sad event.”

The Commissioner for Works and Transport, Dr. Abubakar Kanike, who visited the deceased family on Wednesday, said the state government would expedite action to repair the link road.

The Special Assistant to the Governor on Infrastructure, Mr. Taye Afolabi, said his team had inspected the faulty link road and had made recommendations to Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed.

He added that the state government had already started the dredging and channelling of the river before the unfortunate incident.

However, about 17 occupants of a commercial Toyota Skoda bus with, number plate Kwara XA 805 LRN, narrowly escaped death by whisker on the link road.

An eyewitness, Mr. Tajudeen Usman, said the flood dragged the vehicle off the road but the passengers quickly alighted.

Our correspondent gathered that some other areas were also affected by the flood while commuters were stranded for many hours after the rain.