Tragedy struck on Friday morning as a boat carrying over 200 passengers capsized on the River Niger near the Dambo-Ebuchi community in Kogi Local Government Area of Kogi State. The victims, primarily market women travelling to the Katcha market in Niger State, faced disaster shortly after the vessel departed from a local jetty.
Local sources reported that the boat, owned by Musa Dangana, sank due to a mechanical fault. Abubakar, a resident, stated that most passengers were market traders and farmworkers. So far, eight bodies have been recovered, and search and rescue efforts are ongoing to locate the remaining missing passengers.
The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) confirmed the incident, with its Media Department head, Suleman Makama, providing updates on the recovery operations. However, efforts to obtain a statement from the Kogi State Police Command’s spokesperson, SP Williams Aya, were unsuccessful as calls and messages went unanswered at the time of reporting.
