About 27 people have been confirmed dead in Gbajibo community, Kaiama Local Council of Kwara State, after a boat capsized. An eyewitness attributed the incident to overloading and a strong windstorm.
While the exact number of passengers on board could not be confirmed, the eyewitness noted that the weather conditions contributed significantly to the tragedy.
The accident occurred barely seven months after a similar incident in the same Gbajibo community claimed over 100 lives. According to residents, the ill-fated boat was returning with passengers from a market in Niger State.
An eyewitness and survivor, Salisu Danladi, who managed to swim to safety, recounted, “I thank God that I survived, but the truth was that we were so many on the boat, and we were desperate to return home because the day was fast gone. It was on that day that I realised the usefulness of my skill in swimming.”
The Chairman of Kaiama Local Council, Abdullah Danladi, yesterday led a government delegation to commiserate with the victims’ families. He assured residents that the government would no longer tolerate the almost yearly recurrence of such tragedies.
Danladi announced plans to set up a committee to enforce the use of life jackets, prohibit night travel, and implement other safety measures.
The Emir of Kaiama, Alhaji Muazu Umar, stated that awareness campaigns would be intensified to ensure compliance with water travel safety standards among passengers and boat operators.
In October last year, about 60 people, mostly women and children, died in a boat mishap in Gbajibo, a border town between Kwara and Niger states. In that incident, a wooden boat with a capacity of 100 passengers was carrying about 300 people when it overturned.
Following the tragedy, President Bola Tinubu directed the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) to investigate the spate of boat accidents in Niger and across the country and devise measures to curb the trend.
