Boat capsizes in Nigeria, leaving 47 dead
SOKOTO, Nigeria — A boat capsized Thursday in a river in Nigeria’s northwestern Sokoto state, leaving at least 47 people dead, officials and residents said, reports BritPanorama.
The boat was carrying more than 80 people, most of whom were heading to farms for work in Gorau town in the Goronyo local government area of the state, officials stated.
Abdulkadir Yusuf, Sokoto state manager at the National Inland Waterways Authority, confirmed that the death toll was 47 people “so far.”
Resident Samaila Garba, 55, reported that his 13-year-old granddaughter, Jamila Usman, was among those who died in the capsizing. He noted he had counted at least 42 bodies of victims, mostly women and children. “During the rainy season, most women and children go to the farm to work,” he told The Associated Press.
Another resident, Aminu Dan Hajiya, described his fortune in not being on the boat, stating he also uses the waterway for his farming. “In fact, almost every household in the community has been affected,” he said.
Usman Yusuf, a community leader in Gorau, indicated that more than 80 passengers had boarded the ill-fated boat and shared that 41 people have been buried so far.
Deadly boat accidents are common in Nigeria, especially during the rainy season. A lack of enforcement of safety regulations allows faulty boats without life jackets to operate in the country. In January, at least 25 people were killed in Yobe state in a similar incident.
The tragic loss underscores ongoing concerns about safety in Nigeria’s waterways, where regulations often fall short in protecting communities dependent on river transport.
