A tragic boat accident occurred on Thursday in Kogi State, claiming several lives as a vessel carrying over 200 passengers capsized on the River Niger. Most of the passengers were market women heading to the Katcha weekly market in Niger State. The incident took place along the Dambo-Ebuchi stretch of the river.
The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) confirmed the incident through Suleman Makama, Head of the Media Department. He explained, “It’s true that there was a boat mishap… We are still investigating to determine the number of people involved and the cause of the accident.”
Eyewitnesses reported that the boat, owned by a local operator, Musa Dangana, was overloaded with market traders and farm laborers. Eight bodies have been recovered so far, while rescue teams continue searching for the remaining passengers.
Preliminary reports suggest that the accident may have been caused by overloading, a recurring issue on the waterways. NIWA Managing Director Bola Oyebanji recently highlighted that human error and disregard for safety regulations are the leading causes of boat accidents.
“Ninety-nine per cent of mishaps on the waterways result from human errors,” Oyebanji stated, adding that many operators fail to provide life jackets or adhere to capacity limits.
Rescue operations are ongoing, and authorities urge stricter compliance with safety protocols to prevent such tragedies in the future.
