President Bola Tinubu on Thursday ordered an investigation into the recent cases of boat accidents in Niger State.
The North Central state has been hit with a series of boat mishaps in the past one year with the latest happening on Tuesday night whereby no fewer than 60 people, mostly women and children, were killed.
The locally made wooden boat, with a capacity of 100 passengers, had about 300 people on board when it overturned in the rural Mokwa district, an emergency official said on Wednesday.
Two days after the tragic incident, President Tinubu mourned the victims of the boat mishap and commiserated with the Niger State Government.
He directed the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) to investigate the spate of boat accidents in Niger state and across the country and devise modalities to check the trend.
“President Tinubu commiserates with the families of the victims and prays for the repose of the souls of the dead,” a statement by presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, read.
“The President directs the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) to investigate the spate of boat accidents in Niger state and across the country and devise modalities to check the trend.
“He orders NIWA to expand the scope of its surveillance of inland waters to ensure our people’s safety and prosecute boat operators violating the ban on night sailing.
“President Tinubu thanked emergency workers and local divers who were working to find the remaining people,” the statement read.
Meanwhile, the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) said the toll from the incident had risen to 36.
NSEMA spokesman, Ibrahim Hussaini, said the agency has been conducting rescue operations to recover the victims’ bodies.
He stated that the cause of the mishap remains unclear, adding that search efforts are ongoing to rescue the remaining passengers.
On Wednesday, NSEMA recovered 19 bodies from the river, including both men and women.
The state governor, Umaru Bago, expressed sadness over the latest boat accident at Gbajibo Community of Mokwa Local Government Area.
Bago, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Bologi Ibrahim, described the incident as unfortunate and disheartening.
He said the recurring cases of boat mishaps in the state over the past few years is worrisome, pointing out that the government would redouble efforts to ensure strict compliance with safety measures, to tame the ugly trend.
He sympathised with the leadership and people of Mokwa local government area over the incident and also commiserated with the family of the victims.
Boat accidents are common on the poorly regulated waterways, particularly during the rainy season when rivers and lakes swell.
Nigeria’s waterways authority has tried in the past to prohibit night-time travel on rivers and says overloading vessels is a crime, but crews often break regulations.
Last month, an overloaded boat sank while carrying more than 50 farmers across the Gummi River in Zamfara State. Over 40 are believed to have died.
In June 2023, over 100 people died when a riverboat carrying around 250 passengers capsized in Kwara state, one of the country’s deadliest waterway accidents in years.