The Commissioner of Police in Akwa Ibom State, Waheed Ayilara, has died.

Ayilara passed away in the early hours of Thursday at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, following a prostate cancer surgery on Wednesday.

Sources close to the family disclosed that Ayilara’s health deteriorated after the surgery, leading to his untimely death just hours later.

“We are very sad to inform you that our friend, brother, and family member, the Commissioner of Police for Akwa Ibom State, Waheed Ayilara, is dead,” a family source said.

A senior police officer in Akwa Ibom State, who preferred to remain anonymous as he was not authorized to speak on the matter, also confirmed Ayilara’s death.

According to Channels Television, when contacted for confirmation, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Akwa Ibom State Police Command, ASP Timfon John, stated that “the command cannot make any comment until an official statement by the family is received.”

Ayilara was appointed as the Acting Commissioner of Police in Lagos in November 2023 while still a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP).

He took over from AIG Idowu Owohunwa as the head of the State Criminal Investigation Department before being deployed by the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to lead the Akwa Ibom State Command in February 2024.

At least 49 people have been killed and tens of thousands displaced in Nigeria’s northeast following heavy rains that triggered devastating floods, the National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA) reported on Monday.

The states hardest hit by the flooding—Jigawa, Adamawa, and Taraba—have seen 41,344 people displaced from their homes, according to NEMA spokesperson Manzo Ezekiel.

This disaster comes as Nigeria continues to grapple with the aftermath of its worst flooding in over a decade, which struck in 2022, claiming more than 600 lives, displacing around 1.4 million people, and ravaging 440,000 hectares of farmland.

“We are just entering into the peak of the season, particularly in the northern part of the country and the situation is very dire,” Ezekiel told Reuters.

The floods have not only caused significant human displacement but also inflicted severe damage on the agricultural sector, with approximately 693 hectares of farmland destroyed. This further exacerbates Nigeria’s economic challenges, as the country battles double-digit inflation, largely driven by soaring food prices.

The impact on farming is especially concerning in the northeast, where farmers are already abandoning their lands due to persistent militant attacks, compounding the region’s food security issues.

Earlier this year, the government’s flood outlook had warned that 31 of Nigeria’s 36 states were at risk of experiencing severe flooding.

“We also have information about the high tide in the upper countries of the River Niger before Nigeria. All of these are flowing towards Nigeria. We are beginning to see a manifestation of our predictions,” Ezekiel added.

In July, NEMA had issued warnings of impending major floods in certain Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Rivers State.

During a workshop in Port Harcourt focused on “Downscaling of flood early warning strategies for early actions,” NEMA’s Director of Risk Reduction, Godwin Tepikor, urged local government authorities to take proactive measures to mitigate the flood’s impact.

The agency’s Zonal Director, Babatunde Adebiyi, identified 13 LGAs in Rivers State as high-risk areas, including Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni, Degema, and Ahoada East and West. The agency is working to prepare these communities for the anticipated flooding.

In addition, NEMA has predicted that eight LGAs in Zamfara State will face moderate flooding during the 2024 rainy season.

According to the agency’s Director-General in Zamfara, Zubaida Umar, these areas include Bugundu, Gummi, Gusau, Bakura, Maradun, Talata Mafara, Shinkafi, and Zurmi.

The Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), in its 2024 Annual Flood Outlook, has highlighted that 31 states with 148 LGAs are at high risk of flooding, while 35 states, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), with 249 LGAs, are considered to be at moderate risk. The remaining 377 LGAs are forecasted to experience low flood risk.

As the rainy season progresses, authorities and communities remain on high alert, bracing for what could be another catastrophic year of flooding in Nigeria.

In a daring operation, gunmen have kidnapped a senior official of the Rivers State Board of Internal Revenue.

The victim, identified as Aribibia Fubara, was abducted on Saturday at the Okrika Waterfront near the Marine Base in Port Harcourt, the state capital.

Eyewitnesses reported that the assailants, numbering about six, stormed the area in a speedboat.

They fired gunshots into the air, creating panic and dispersing bystanders, before whisking away their target. The incident appeared to be a well-coordinated and pre-planned operation.

As of the time of this report, it remains unclear if the kidnappers have contacted Fubara’s family to demand a ransom.

Confirming the incident, the spokesperson for the Rivers State Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, said, “The command is aware of the incident, and the CP (Commissioner of Police, Tunji Disu) has directed tactical units in the command to ensure that the victim is released unhurt. A manhunt has been launched to arrest the perpetrators and bring them to book.”