A canoe transporting 10 women and children to a naming ceremony in Kebbi capsized on Monday, August 31, 2020, leading to the death of eight people.
The victims drowned at Tungar-Gegero in Jega local government area of Kebbi, according to the chairman of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Sani Dododo, on Tuesday, September 1.
He said the canoe’s operator, a middle aged man, was able to save two of the women when the incident happened around 10:30 am.
The SEMA boss said the agency has recovered the corpses of three adults and one girl.
“We are making frantic efforts to recover the remaining corpses,” he said.
Dododo said professional traditional fishermen have been recruited to search for the bodies in the terrain of water from Tungar-Gegeru down to Kimba, to Jega bridge, and to Mungadi.
“Normally, if there is this kind of capsizing, you cannot find the bodies in the same place a day after, but such bodies may be recovered far away from the scene of the accident,” he said.
A similar boat accident in the Ikorodu area of Lagos on Monday claimed two lives, with another person declared missing.
A total of seven people, including two toddlers, were inside the boat which was on its way from Makoko community to the Offin area in Ikorodu when it capsized.
The Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) said all passengers aboard the boat were not wearing life jackets.
