Another Boat Capsizes In Niger State Leaving 18 Dead
BARELY one week after a boat mishap claimed 70 lives in Malili village in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State, another boat has capsized in the same area leaving about 18 persons dead.
The boat, which was carrying about 80 passengers, was said to have split, 10 minutes after takeoff.
It was reportedly conveying people returning from the weekly market from Kokoli to Ulakami village in Borgu local government area at about 4pm on Thursday.
This came as the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), last week, attributed the high casualty in the first boat mishap at Tunga Na’ Illo in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State, to lack of state government presence in the area.
Umar Ibrahim, a survivor who narrated the incident yesterday, the passengers were in the middle of the 10-kilometre journey when the boat suddenly split throwing all passengers aboard.
“We had just gotten to the middle of the journey when the boat split into two. People started screaming and falling into the water.”
A few villagers, who spoke to The Guardian, however, attributed the second boat mishap in less than one week to unnatural causes, saying thiever, the River god, was angry because it was not given its yearly sacrifice.
But a staff of the council, who did not want his name in print, said the boat split because it was too old and was not properly maintained.
Special Adviser to Governor Babangida Aliyu on Disaster and Emergency, Mohammed Shaba, who visited the sense of the mishap, appealed to the people to remain calm, as the State government would extend relief materials to survivors.
NEMA had attributed the high casualty in the first boat mishap to lack of government presence in the area. Over 70 people died when the boat, which was carrying about 150 villagers to the market, suddenly developed engine problem and capsized mid way in the river.
The North Central Coordinator of the Agency, Mr. Ishaya Isah Chinoko, who stated this in Minna at a one-day sensitisation workshop on liquid and solid waste management (and their consequences on public health), noted that, if there were any government presence on ground in an event of that nature, the level of casualty would have been minimal.
The Guardian
The boat, which was carrying about 80 passengers, was said to have split, 10 minutes after takeoff.
It was reportedly conveying people returning from the weekly market from Kokoli to Ulakami village in Borgu local government area at about 4pm on Thursday.
This came as the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), last week, attributed the high casualty in the first boat mishap at Tunga Na’ Illo in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State, to lack of state government presence in the area.
Umar Ibrahim, a survivor who narrated the incident yesterday, the passengers were in the middle of the 10-kilometre journey when the boat suddenly split throwing all passengers aboard.
“We had just gotten to the middle of the journey when the boat split into two. People started screaming and falling into the water.”
A few villagers, who spoke to The Guardian, however, attributed the second boat mishap in less than one week to unnatural causes, saying thiever, the River god, was angry because it was not given its yearly sacrifice.
But a staff of the council, who did not want his name in print, said the boat split because it was too old and was not properly maintained.
Special Adviser to Governor Babangida Aliyu on Disaster and Emergency, Mohammed Shaba, who visited the sense of the mishap, appealed to the people to remain calm, as the State government would extend relief materials to survivors.
NEMA had attributed the high casualty in the first boat mishap to lack of government presence in the area. Over 70 people died when the boat, which was carrying about 150 villagers to the market, suddenly developed engine problem and capsized mid way in the river.
The North Central Coordinator of the Agency, Mr. Ishaya Isah Chinoko, who stated this in Minna at a one-day sensitisation workshop on liquid and solid waste management (and their consequences on public health), noted that, if there were any government presence on ground in an event of that nature, the level of casualty would have been minimal.
The Guardian
Another Boat Capsizes In Niger State Leaving 18 Dead
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Reviewed by Msl
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