The Niger State Government has disclosed that at least six corpses of victims of a boat mishap that occurred between the Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State and Yauri in Kebbi state on Monday have been recovered.
This was made known in a statement on Wednesday in Minna through the Acting Director-General of the State Emergency Management Agency, Mallam Salihu Garba, speaking with journalists at his office on Ebitu Ukiwe Road, GRA, in Minna.
The Agency received a report of a boat mishap that occurred between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. on Monday, October 2nd, 2023, at Agwara.
The ill-fated boat took off from Kasabu village of Agwara L.G.A. in Niger State and was heading towards Yauri in Kebbi State.
The NSEMA boss revealed that one of the survivors of the boat mishap who was on board the boat said the boat was carrying about 22 passengers at the time of the incident.
The DG further said that the cause of the mishap was attributed to water hyacinth coupled with strong waves.
He promised that search and rescue operations were still ongoing with the assistance of local divers and boat owners, all under the strict supervision of a desk officer of the agency in Agwara Local Government Council of the State.
He said, “it normally takes about 24 hours for any drowned person to float upstream.”
He stated that as of Tuesday evening, at about 3 p.m., the bloated bodies of some six victims had been recovered.
Among them were Bilyaminu Kontagora, Dauda Alhassan Kasabu, and Joshua Auta, all of whom were from Niger State.
Additionally, Murna Ezekiel, Illiya Kpchra Busuru, and Amos Samuel were allegedly from Kebbi State.”
