A boat carrying approximately 200 market women and farm laborers capsized Thursday along the Dambo-Ebuchi section of the Niger River in Kogi State, Nigeria, with at least eight bodies recovered so far, officials confirmed Friday.
The vessel, owned by Musa Dangana, was transporting passengers to the weekly market in Katcha, Niger State, when the accident occurred, according to the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA). Search and rescue operations continue for remaining passengers.
“It’s true that there was a boat mishap on Thursday involving quite a number of women heading to the market in Niger State. We are still investigating to determine the number of people involved and the cause of the accident,” said Suleman Makama, head of NIWA’s Media Department.
The incident comes days after NIWA Managing Director Bola Oyebanji identified human errors, drug abuse, and safety regulation violations as primary causes of boat accidents over the past three years during a parliamentary oversight meeting in Lokoja.
“Ninety-nine per cent of mishaps on the waterways result from human errors,” Oyebanji told the House of Representatives Committee on NIWA. “Some of these operators rely on drugs, which impair their judgment and lead to fatal errors.” He criticized the common practice of wooden boats carrying far beyond their capacity, often transporting 150 to 200 passengers without providing life jackets.
NIWA officials said a comprehensive statement about the accident would be released pending management clearance.
