A boat mishap has claimed about twenty lives in the River Niger on Tuesday at about 4:30 p.m. in Ibaji Local Government Area of Kogi State, while many others remain missing.
Tribune Online gathered from a farmer, Mr James Otoga, an eyewitness in the local government, that the tragedy occurred on Tuesday evening.
According to him, the boat, which was fully loaded with passengers, departed from Onugwa community in Ibaji and was heading to Ilushi market before it capsized, leaving an as-yet unconfirmed number of people dead.
‘The boat was fully loaded with our people going to market for the 1st October celebration. Only five survivors have surfaced so far, and 20 bodies have been recovered. More of our people are still lying lifeless beneath the River Niger.
‘Even those who came for a burial in Onugwa and were returning to Ilushi are missing. We are yet to confirm the total number of people onboard and those who survived,’ he said.
Confirming the incident, the Chairman of Ibaji Local Government Area, Honourable Ugeh Emmanuel, described it as the most disastrous in the history of the area.
‘As I am speaking with you now, nobody can authoritatively say this is the actual number of casualties. We also cannot ascertain the number of people on board from their departure point.
‘This is a very serious accident. The boat had not even reached Ilushi when the mishap occurred around 4:30 p.m. Most of the victims were moving to Ilushi for the celebration of 1st October, which has been a tradition in the community, before they met their untimely death,’ he said.
It will be recalled that in the past year, there have been numerous boat mishaps in Kogi, Niger and other riverine states, with many lives lost.
Efforts to reach the Managing Director of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Bola Oyebanji, and the Assistant General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Suleiman Makama, proved abortive as their phones could not be reached.