At least two people have been confirmed dead and many others missing when a boat capsized in Yobe State.
The Director-General Press and Media Affairs in Yobe, Mamman Mohammed, said the incident occurred on Saturday afternoon when two passenger boats bound for the Babangida weekly market capsized in a flood wave.
In his statement, Mr Mohammed said Governor Mai Buni of Yobe has expressed shock and sorrow over the accident which occurred in Jumbam, Tarmuwa Local Government Area of the state.
The governor said two bodies were so far recovered, while an unascertained number of passengers were still missing.
Mr Buni directed relevant agencies in the state to commence an intensive search for the remaining victims.
He described the accident as sad, unfortunate and devastating, and prayed for the safe rescue of the remaining passengers.
He advised people travelling by road or water to always be cautious.
The governor directed those living along waterways to move to higher grounds for their safety.
“The heavy rains and floods usually come from far and unannounced; we should always be on the watch out and avoid dangerous waterways,” he said.
Mr Buni prayed to Allah (SWT) to protect the people of the state, their properties, livestock and farmlands against the increasing menace of floods.
Boat accidents have become commonplace in many parts of northern Nigeria. Other states were similar fatal accidents have been recorded include Jigawa and Niger.
There is hardly any regulation of the water transport sector and most boats have no safety equipment in them.
Support PREMIUM TIMES’ journalism of integrity and credibility
Good journalism costs a lot of money. Yet only good journalism can ensure the possibility of a good society, an accountable democracy, and a transparent government.
For continued free access to the best investigative journalism in the country we ask you to consider making a modest support to this noble endeavour.
By contributing to PREMIUM TIMES, you are helping to sustain a journalism of relevance and ensuring it remains free and available to all.
Donate
TEXT AD: Call Willie – +2348098788999
(function() {
var _fbq = window._fbq || (window._fbq = []);
if (!_fbq.loaded) {
var fbds = document.createElement(‘script’);
fbds.async = true;
fbds.src = ‘//connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbds.js’;
var s = document.getElementsByTagName(‘script’)[0];
s.parentNode.insertBefore(fbds, s);
_fbq.loaded = true;
}
_fbq.push([‘addPixelId’, ‘756614861070731’]);
})();
window._fbq = window._fbq || [];
window._fbq.push([‘track’, ‘PixelInitialized’, {}]);
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?
n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;
n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,
document,’script’,’https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js’);
(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = ‘https://connect.facebook.net/en_GB/sdk.js#xfbml=1&appId=249643311490&version=v2.3’; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));
