The Lagdo dam was built between August 1977 and July 1982 by a combination of engineers and Chinese workers, along with Cameroonian labourers.

[2] Its construction was intended to supply electricity to the northern part of the country and allow the irrigation of 15,000 hectares of crops downstream.

In 2012, water released from the dam flooded areas including Adamawa State in Nigeria, resulting in more than 10 deaths and the loss of properties worth thousands of dollars.

This left more than 10,000 hectares of farmland flooded and the streets of Makurdi occupied by crocodiles and other dangerous creeping creatures.

[9] However, the Nigerian Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu Kazaure, stated that 80% of the floods in Nigeria are caused by rainfall and not the Lagdo Reservoir, and confirmed that the cause of the flood was due to water flowing from the tributaries of Katsina Ala River and others into Benue River due to heavy downpour.