…As Boat Allegedly Carried 250 Passengers
By Wole Adedeji, Ilorin
The Kwara State Police Command has put the latest figure of casualties in Monday boat mishap on River Niger at 106, while a total number of those rescued so far is144.
In an official statement, the police said that the boat that was returning from a wedding ceremony at a community on the other side of River Niger capsized about 3 a.m on Monday and as at the time the accident occurred it was carrying not less than 250 passengers.
The statement reads in part, “The Kwara State Police Command wishes to inform the good people of Kwara State of the unfortunate boat accident that happened in Patigi Local Government Area of the state at about 0300 hours on June 12, 2023.
Boat mishaps had in recent times in Patigi Local Government Area of Kwara State been recurring due to alleged overloading of passengers, particularly on occassions of marriages, which are often made elaborate, drawing traditionally, the attendance of relations on the banks of River Niger, covering riverine Nupe communities of Kwara, Niger and Kogi states.”
Giving details, the Police in Kwara State said its Divisional Police Officer, DPO, at Patigi Division received an information to the effect that “a boat accident occurred around the River Niger axis.”
The spokesperson of the command, Ajayi Okasanmi, a Superintendent of Police, in a signed statement said, “The Commissioner of Police in Kwara State, CP Paul Odama, psc+, immediately after receiving the information dispatched a team of policemen to join the policemen on ground and other locals already on their way to locate the exact spot the boat accident happened to join in the rescue efforts.
“The boat was said to have conveyed about 250 people from a village called Gboti via Patigi after a wedding ceremony to Ebu Village and Dzakan Village, all within Patigi Local Government Area.
“On leaving the shore, one part of the boat by the engine side collapsed, where water penetrated the boat, which ultimately led to the boat capsizing.”
He further said that “all efforts to draw the attention of the villagers hosting the wedding ceremony for assistance by the persons in the boat proved abortive, leading to the deaths of about one hundred and six people.”
Among the casualties, he added, “were 61 casualties from Ebu Village; 38 from Dzakan Village; four victims from Kpada Village, and seven other casualties from Kogi State, putting the total number of casualties at 106; while the total number of rescued people was put at about 144.”
Okasanmi conveyed the condolence wishes of his Commissioner of Police, Mr. Odama, who on behalf of the entire Police Command, “to commissirately share in the griefs of the families of the dead victims, and prayed that the souls of the departed would rest in peace.
The Police spokesman said that his boss had further directed that the policemen on the rescue operation “should continue in their efforts while providing security for the rescued victims of the accident until they had fully recovered from the shock and trauma of the accident and handed over to their respective families.
