The Kwara State Police Command has reported that a total of 144 individuals have been rescued following the boat mishap that occurred on Monday in the Patigi local government area of Kwara State.
Tragically, the police have confirmed a death toll of 106.
In a statement issued by SP Ajayi Okasanmi, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), and released to the press on Wednesday, it was revealed that the boat capsized between Ebu and Dzakan villages in Patigi local government area.
The boat was carrying approximately 250 passengers, out of which 106 lost their lives.
“Among the casualties were people from Ebu Village with 61 casualties, Dzakan Village with 38, Kpada Village with 4 dead, and three (3) other casualties from Kogi State, putting the total number of casualties at 106 and the total number of rescued people at about 144.
“Information was received by the Divisional Police Officer of Patigi Divisional Headquarters to the effect that a boat accident occurred around the River Niger axis.
“The Commissioner of Police Kwara State, CP Paul Odama psc+, immediately after receiving the information dispatched a team of policemen to join the policemen 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’s 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.
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 106 people.
According to the Transition Implementation Committee (TIC) Chairman of Patigi Local Government area, Alhaji Ibrahim Liman, the boat accident may have been caused by water leakage into the boat.
He explained that the volume of water that entered affected the boat’s movement, leading to its capsizing.
Liman also stated that all the survivors of the accident were able to swim to the river bank on their own, as they possessed swimming skills.
On the other hand, the Managing Director of the Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC), Mallam Abubakar Yelwa, attributed the high death toll to the absence of life jackets among the passengers.
Yelwa revealed that the commission had spent a significant amount of money to acquire life jackets for the residents within HYPPADEC’s coverage area.
Yelwa made these remarks during a program organized by the commission in Ilorin on Wednesday.
“High death rate in the early Monday morning boat mishap in the Patigi local government area of Kwara state has been blamed on the negative attitude of people of the area in the use of life jackets whenever they travel by water.”
The Managing Director of HYPPADEC expressed concern over the low usage of life jackets among the residents and boat operators in the region.
He urged the state House of Assembly to pass a law that would make it mandatory for people living in riverine communities and boat operators to wear life jackets while traveling on water.
The HYPPADEC boss emphasized that life jackets can provide individuals with approximately seven hours of flotation in case of an accident. He mentioned that the commission distributed life jackets to the people in the area last year.
Furthermore, he suggested that the law should restrict nighttime travel on water, as more lives could have been saved if the accident had occurred during daylight hours.
“If the victims had put on the life jackets, the fatality rate would have been very minimal because a life jacket can keep a victim afloat for at least seven hours and help would have come from villagers within that period.
“I want to call on relevant authorities to legislate a law that will make the use of life jackets compulsory for boat passengers and as well restrain the boat operators from operating at night. If the victims had worn life jackets and the accident occurred in broad daylight, the fatality rate would have been very minimal”, he said.
In another development, the Kwara State House of Assembly has charged the state government to collaborate with National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), towards averting disasters in the state.
This was part of the resolutions of the House after considering a Matter of General Importance on the recent boat mishap along Egboti in Niger State and Kpada, Patigi Local Government Area of Kwara State raised by the lawmaker representing Edu Constituency, Hon. Saba Gideon during today’s plenary.
Hon. Gideon blamed the incident on the failure of Federal Inland Water Ways in safeguarding the nation’s waterways.
Several members of the assembly expressed their condolences to the state government and the families of the victims who lost their lives in the tragic incident. Each member conveyed their condolences separately.
The Speaker of the Assembly, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Salihu-Danladi, read out the resolutions of the House. He urged the Ministry of Works and Transport to collaborate closely with the National Inland Waterways Authority to develop long-term solutions that would prevent similar incidents from happening again.
