Laleye Dipo in Minna
So far eight corpses have been recovered from the river where a boat conveying 100 passengers capsized last Monday in Niger State. This is just as the state Governor, Alhaji Mohammed Bago, condoled with families of those who lost their lives in the boat mishap.
Five of those confirmed dead are women while the others are men.
According to the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), local divers in partnership with officials of the agency are still searching for more bodies in the river, but could not confirm if anyone has been rescued alive.
“I cannot say all of them died, because some of them could swim,” a source at NSEMA told THISDAY yesterday.
However the NSEMA Public Relations Officer, Abdul Hussaini, said a high-powered team from the headquarters has headed to the scene of the accident to get a first-hand information.
Meanwhile Governor Bago has sympathised with the Borgu Emirate and its residents over the incident.
In the message signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Bologi Ibrahim, Governor Bago described the incident “as unfortunate and pathetic.
“I feel your pains and sorrow over the sad and unfortunate news. It is truly pathetic,” the governor said before praying to Allah for the repose of the souls of the departed.
Bago commended the efforts of the officials of NSEMA for quickly engaging in rescue operations in collaboration with local divers, but said relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) must rise to their responsibilities to ensure that safety precautions in water transportation are observed in riverine communities to avert incessant boat mishaps.
The governor noted that boat mishaps in recent times are becoming “one too many in the state, hence all hands must be on deck to reverse the ugly trend.”
t was reported that a boat carrying 100 passengers and goods, such as grains and sugar cane, from Dugga in Kainji in the Borgu Local Government Area of the state to Wara in Kebbi State capsized in Tungan Leda around Shagunu village in the Borgu council area.
