A boat accident in Mokwa Local Government Area of Niger State has claimed at least 24 lives, the state government has said.
The state governor, Mohammed Bago, who has expressed shock at the incident, called for the use of life jackets for anybody boarding a boat in the state and condemned overcrowding of any boat embarking on a journey.
The victims, mostly women and children, were confirmed dead and over 30 people rescued, while a combined rescue operation by marine police and local divers in collaboration with Niger State Emergency Management Agency is ongoing.
Governor Bago who spoke on Sunday in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Bologi Ibrahim, described the accident as both terrible and undesirable.
“This is quite a shocking and sorrowful situation to the people of the affected communities and I share in their sorrow. I pray that Allah will grant the deceased Aljannah Firdausi,” the statement said.
Commiserating with the families of the victims, the governor directed the Niger State Emergency Management Agency to do the needful to ameliorate the sufferings of the people.
Many others were said to have been missing in the boat accident, which occurred between 7.30am and 8am.
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