Nigerian president confirms 25 killed in boat accident

ABUJA, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) — At least 25 bodies have been recovered after a boat carrying more than 300 passengers capsized in Niger State in central Nigeria early this week, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu’s spokesman said on Thursday.
Over 150 others were rescued after the overloaded wooden boat flipped over on the River Niger upstream Jebba Dam in the Mokwa local government area Tuesday night, Bayo Onanuga, a senior presidential spokesman, said in a statement issued on behalf of Tinubu.
The victims were returning from a religious celebration in another community in Niger when the accident occurred, local authorities said in a separate statement issued earlier, noting mostly women and children were aboard the ill-fated boat. The exact cause of the accident is still under investigation.
Lamenting the incident, Tinubu has ordered the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) to investigate the spate of boat accidents in Niger and across the country and devise modalities to check the trend, said the presidency statement.
The Nigerian leader also directed the NIWA to expand the scope of its surveillance of inland waters to ensure “people’s safety and prosecute boat operators violating the ban on night sailing,” it added.
Boat accidents are common in Nigeria, often due to overloading, adverse weather conditions, and operational errors. ■