The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has confirmed that more than 40 people are unaccounted for after a passenger boat capsized in Sokoto State on Sunday morning.
According to the agency, the vessel, which was heading to a local market with over 50 passengers on board, overturned mid-journey. “About 10 persons have been rescued, while more than 40 passengers remain missing,” NEMA said in its statement.
Officials said rescue operations are still underway. Boat mishaps are frequent across Nigeria’s inland waterways, often linked to overcrowding, poor safety enforcement, and rising water levels during the rainy season.
The latest incident echoes several recent tragedies. In August 2024, 16 farmers drowned when their canoe overturned in Sokoto while they were on their way to rice fields. Earlier in May, at least 27 lives were lost in Gbajibo, Kwara State, when a boat carrying market-goers capsized — just months after another disaster in the same area claimed 100 victims.
Other deadly accidents have been reported this year: six girls drowned in Jigawa on July 29, while two days earlier, 13 passengers died in Niger State in a similar mishap.
Speaking on Sunday, NEMA’s Director General, Mrs. Zubaida Umar, said the agency had moved swiftly to respond once reports of the Sokoto accident reached them. “The agency activated its response immediately after receiving reports that a boat conveying over 50 passengers to Goronyo Market had capsized,” she said.
