The people of Ekeke-Erah community in Owan East LGA, Edo State, have cried out for help following a devastating dam collapse that led to destruction of their environment and sought for provision of aid and medical relief.

A member of the community sent a Save-Our-Souls to the Environmental Defenders Network (EDEN) about a dam failure near the Agric Settlement in Esan West LGA since the 22 January 2025, saying, the failure of the dam caused severe flooding in Ekeke-Erah, destroying key bridges, including the first and second Oghidekpe bridges, Osemihien River Bridge, and Ovbieda River Bridge, cutting off access to the community.

The Environmental Defenders Network (EDEN) called on the Edo State government, the Ministry of Environment and the state emergency management team to come to their aid.

Speaking to the EDEN media team, President of the Owan General Assembly of Nigeria-OGAN, Fred Enaikhe Aleburu, revealed that farmlands were submerged, leading to major agricultural losses, while the contamination of the Oghidekpe River left residents without clean drinking water.

He further revealed that after some media reports following the incident, the Edo State Emergency management Agency had visited the community and left without providing any form of relief or succour for the people.

The Village Head of Ekeke-Erah, Chief Yakubu Kadiri, lamented over the suffering of the people, explaining that the failed dam with pollution of the river has brought about a water crisis, and disruption of transportation to buy or sell in the other communities.

“The most urgent issue is that we have not had safe drinking water for the past four days, and those who consumed the contaminated water are now in the hospital. Before this, we relied on the Oghidekpe River for drinking water. As the community leader, I sent youths to investigate the cause of the problem, and they discovered that a dam had been built at the river’s source. The blockage caused the dam to burst, leading to flooding and water contamination. We confirmed that this is a government-owned project,” he said.

Executive Director of EDEN, Chima Williams, berated the Edo State government for a slow response to the plight of the people despite their pleas for help, insisting that the rights and livelihood of the common people have been greatly affected in the communities, with many cut off from water and road access.

He urged the state government to quickly provide potable drinking water for the people, to fix the destroyed bridges and compensate the community for their lost farm produce and properties.

He also called for a medical team to be deployed to the community, to check and treat the people against any diseases that may have been caused by the fallen dam.