No fewer than five persons have lost their lives as a boat conveying passengers on Saturday afternoon capsized in Egah river in Edati Local Government Area of Niger State.
According to reports, the boat left Gbanchi in Edati for Sofanla Village in the fast flowing Egah river at about 2:30 pm, when it hits a rock thereby spinning before it eventually capsized. And as a result five persons were drowned.
Our Correspondent further gathered that villagers and fishermen in the area have been making frantic efforts to recover their bodies.
According to an eye witness Mallam Iliyasu Gambo who spoke to Our Correspondent “the passengers would not have drowned if they wore life jackets. The State government has told every passengers and operators of boats and ferry to always wear life jackets whenever they are travelling but these people did not wear that is why we can’t even save their lives.”
It should be recalled that the Niger State Governor Dr Babangida Aliyu went tough on canoe and ferry operators to enforce the usage of life jackets before embarking on any trip.
The Police Public Relations Officer in Niger, Mr. Richard Oguche, confirmed the accident, adding that the police had dispatched its Marine personnel to the area to assist in the recovery of the remains of the drowned passengers.
According to the Oguche, amongst those that drowned in the mishap are Baba Mohammed, Abu Yaba, Audu Saidu, Jibrin Mohammed and Aisha Usman.
