Heavy rainfall has reportedly washed away a wooden bridge linking Rabba community with Mokwa Local Government Area of Niger State.
It was gathered that the wooden bridge was constructed and reconstructed several times through community efforts following the destruction of the original concrete bridge resulting from the devastating Mokwa flood in May 2025, which claimed over 200 lives and destroyed properties worth billions of naira.
A source from the area disclosed that the recent incident has cut off Rabba community from Mokwa and neighbouring communities, adding that the wooden bridge served as the only major access route connecting residents to essential social and economic activities in the area. It stated that the bridge provided the people access to their farms, schools, healthcare facilities, markets as well as socio-economic activities.
It was further learnt that the situation has also raised fears over the safety and wellbeing of the people, particularly during emergencies, as Rabba is geographically surrounded by water, with the River Niger on one side and River Dingi on the other, where the washed-away bridge was constructed. With the bridge now destroyed, residents and farmers face serious difficulties accessing essential services, transporting farm produce, and moving between Rabba and Mokwa.
The people of the community have appealed to the Niger State Government for urgent intervention so as to reconstruct a permanent and durable bridge capable of withstanding future flooding. They noted that repeated reconstruction of the wooden bridge through community efforts had exhausted their resources and was no longer a sustainable solution.
The community appealed to the government to treat the reconstruction of the Rabba bridge as an emergency, stressing that a permanent solution would restore access, protect livelihoods and reconnect the people of Rabba with Mokwa and other parts of the local government.
