The National Emergency Management Agency has said it is closely monitoring the water level in Cameroon’s Lagdo Dam over the likelihood of flooding along the River Benue.
The agency disclosed this in its scorecard for July and August 2026 submitted to the Office of the National Security Adviser, detailing its flood preparedness, emergency response and humanitarian interventions during the period.
According to NEMA, the monitoring of the Lagdo Dam forms part of measures to proactively manage the 2026 flood season and mitigate potential disasters in communities along the River Benue.
The agency said it had intensified coordination with relevant federal and state institutions, strengthened monitoring of high-risk locations and sustained public sensitisation on flood safety.
It added that flood early-warning information and advisories were being disseminated to communities across the country in collaboration with State Emergency Management Agencies, Local Emergency Management Committees, traditional institutions and other stakeholders.
NEMA said the initiative was focused on translating national forecasts into actionable community-level information and encouraging residents in high-risk communities to take precautionary measures, including relocation to safer areas where necessary.
The agency also dismissed reports circulating on social media alleging an imminent collapse of the Kagini Dam in Kaduna, which it said could cause massive flooding downstream in Kaduna and Niger states.
“NEMA, in a joint assessment conducted with relevant stakeholders, confirmed that there was no immediate threat of any potential collapse of Kagini Dam in Kaduna that could result in massive flooding downstream in Kaduna and Niger States, as alleged in viral social media posts,” it stated.
NEMA said its response teams remained on standby to coordinate responses to flooding and other climate-related incidents with SEMAs, LEMCs and other stakeholders.
It disclosed that it responded to flood and windstorm incidents in several locations, including Uyo, Eket, Ringim, Calabar, Kaduna, Riyom, Yenagoa and Southern Ijaw.
As part of efforts to improve emergency preparedness, the agency said its Director-General, Zubaida Umar, activated the National Emergency Operations Centre in August to strengthen coordination, information management and analysis of reliable data on the 2026 flood situation and other climate-induced emergencies.
“The Centre serves as a coordination hub for processing operational information and producing timely and reliable data to support planning, decision-making and effective emergency response,” the agency said.
NEMA also disclosed that it conducted a flood simulation exercise in Calabar, Cross River State, and participated in a joint exercise in Adamawa State with the Presidential Committee on Flood Relief and Rehabilitation/AATF and other stakeholders.
The agency said the exercises were designed to test emergency response procedures, inter-agency coordination, communication and operational readiness for potential flood emergencies.
Meanwhile, NEMA said it provided relief assistance to 24,625 households, representing 147,750 persons, across the country in July and August.
It also said it upgraded three Emergency Response and Ambulance Bays within the FCT and its environs as a pilot initiative to improve emergency response time, inter-agency coordination and emergency medical support.
The latest monitoring of the Lagdo Dam comes against the backdrop of previous flooding incidents associated with water releases from the facility.
In 2012, NEMA warned that a sudden release of water from the dam posed a serious risk to communities along the River Benue, while the 2022 flood disaster was again aggravated by excess water released from the facility.
In September 2022, NEMA said Cameroon commenced the release of excess water from the Lagdo Dam on September 13, warning that the water would cascade into Nigeria through the River Benue and its tributaries.
The scale of the 2022 disaster was enormous, with NEMA’s then Director-General putting the national toll at 665 deaths, 2,437,411 displaced persons and 4,476,867 people affected.
The recurring concern over Lagdo has therefore made monitoring of the dam an important component of Nigeria’s flood preparedness, particularly for communities and states along the River Benue. Punch