Kogi State: Many Missing As Boat With 200 Passengers Capsizes

The National Inland Waterways (NIWA), has confirmed a boat accident involving no fewer than 200 market women from Kogi state.

The Head of the Media Department of NIWA, Suleman Makama, who confirmed the incident on Friday, said that the Market women were on their way to Kacha market in Niger State when it capsized along the Dambo-Ebuchi sections of River Niger, Killing several passengers.

“There was indeed a boat mishap on Thursday involving quite several women going to the market in Niger state, we are still investigating to ascertain the number of people involved as well as what led to the accident,” Makama said.

According to eyewitnesses, the boat which belongs to one Musa Dangana, was carrying over 200 passengers, including market women and farm labourers, en route to the Kacha weekly market in Niger State.

As of the time of filling this report, eight bodies were reportedly recovered, while search and rescue operations continue to find the remaining passengers.

On when the details of the boat accident would be made public, Makama, said that he could not give a specific time frame but promised to get back to the media as soon as the details emerge from NIWA operational office in Niger State.

Recall that the Managing Director of the Nigeria Inland Waterways, NIWA, Bola  Oyebanji has identified human errors and disobedience to the marine safety standards as the major cause of the recurring boat mishaps in the past three years.

Oyebanji disclosed this while fielding questions from the members House Representatives Committee on NIWA who were on oversight function to the Headquarters of the Authority in Lokoja on Wednesday.

Oyebanji said that the NIWA was committed to the safety of Nigerians using water transportation.

“Ninety- nine per cent of the mishaps on the waterways were a result of human errors, noting that research has shown that the operators are committing avoidable mistakes which shouldn’t have caused havoc,” he said

Oyabanji added that some operators are repugnant to following rules and regulations, stressing that “imagine wooden boats taking over 150 to  200 passengers at a go over and above its capacity.”

He said that the Transportation code requires revalidation because the operators have not been strictly following the code recently signed on the rules of a life jacket when boarding a boat.