In a statement, the office of Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu said he had received “the news of the devastation wreaked by floods on communities and farmlands across the country with profound grief”.

The president emphasised the need to address “environmental concerns” and “build a more climate resilient and adaptive society”, the statement added.

Around 107,000 hectares of farmland have been washed away – a statistic that is causing concern as Nigerians are already struggling under steep increases in food costs.

The country is facing its worst economic crisis in a generation thanks to issues such as double-digit inflation and foreign currency shortages.

Nema and the UN’s refugee agency noted that several of those displaced by the flooding had already fled their homes in the north-west due to repeated attacks by militants.

The UN’s refugee agency said the floods were a “devastating” event that has wrought “death and destruction”.

In 2022, Nigeria experienced its worst flooding in more than a decade, which killed more than 600 people and displaced around 1.3 million.