A severe environmental disaster is unfolding in the Uzairue kingdom of Edo State, where worsening erosion has begun to unearth corpses from a local cemetery and force residents from their homes.
The once tranquil town of Jattu, in Etsako West Local Government Area, is now grappling with the terrifying consequences of unchecked gully erosion. With every downpour, the situation deteriorates, culminating in the recent exhumation of human remains from the cemetery of St. Philip Catholic Church along the Jattu–South Ibie Road. These corpses, residents say, are being washed into surrounding neighbourhoods, triggering not only emotional trauma but also serious public health concerns.
Entire households have been displaced as homes continue to cave in under the force of the erosion, leaving residents stranded and vulnerable. Many are now calling for immediate intervention, appealing to both the Edo State and Federal Governments to urgently address what they describe as a humanitarian emergency.
“The government must not wait until lives are lost,” said Mallam Sirajudeen Muhammad, President of the Uzairue Sons and Daughters association, who led a recent on-the-ground assessment in collaboration with local journalists. “These are not isolated farmlands; these are people’s homes, their memories, their safety.”
Photographs from the assessment tour paint a grim picture – streets torn apart, homes dangling on the edge of collapsing gullies, and families reduced to makeshift shelter. Residents lament that despite repeated outcries, substantial intervention has yet to arrive.
The erosion menace is not limited to Jattu alone. Other communities across the Uzairue kingdom are similarly affected, with gaping ravines threatening lives and livelihoods alike. Environmentalists now warn that the situation ranks among the worst ecological disasters in the history of Edo State.
“We are not just talking about damage to infrastructure,” said a local environmental advocate. “We are witnessing the collapse of entire communities – spiritually, socially, and physically.”
Desperate residents are now pleading with Governor Monday Okpebholo to treat the erosion as an emergency and mobilise the necessary resources to bring relief before the next rainfall worsens the devastation.
As the rains continue, so too does the community’s fear – not just of losing property, but of losing what remains of their dignity and dead.
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