A pregnant mother and six children were among the 11 people who were feared killed when a boat transporting them from a burial capsized in the River Benue in Makurdi Local Government Area of Benue State.
The boat mishap took place on Saturday night, according to a local source who only goes by Daniel.
In a telephone chat with media on Sunday, Daniel stated that the victims were returning to the Daududawadawa village, an island settlement behind the Nigerian Army School of Military Engineering Barracks on the state capital’s North Bank.
According to a local source, the ill-fated boat, which carried about 40 people, crashed in the middle of the river between 7 and 8 p.m. during a downpour and wind.
Nura Umar, commander of the local vigilante organisation Operation Shara (Sweep) in North Bank, verified the incident, saying the victims were coming from the burial of a woman from their community in Wadata.
Umar said, “The deceased woman had been taken to a private hospital in North Bank on Saturday morning, where she later died, and the relatives and sympathisers from the island community decided to take the remains to Wadata for her burial.
“After the burial, they boarded a boat to cross back to the Daududawadawa community. At about 7pm, heavy rain and strong winds started, and the boat capsized halfway into the journey.
“There were over 40 passengers aboard the boat, but 11 were feared dead. We have recovered four bodies so far and buried them, while divers are still searching for the remaining victims.”
Umar added that one of the survivors had a baby strapped to her back but lost it in the disaster.
When reached, the state police command’s spokesperson, DSP Udeme Edet, stated that she had yet to receive a report on the event.
The chairman of Makurdi Local Government, Joseph Keffi, could not be reached because his phone rang.
This comes just six months after the state government promised to implement strict safety measures to address frequent boat accidents on the state’s waterways.
The state administration has initiated a comprehensive enforcement operation from January until Friday, led by Joseph Har, Special Adviser to the Governor on Security and Internal Affairs.
According to the new safety recommendations, the government emphasises the usage of life jackets for all passengers and boat operators, among others.
