Niger boat accident claims man, son, two wives, four others

Two wives and a son of a man identified as Muazu Babangida were among seven people who died in a boat accident at Zhigiri village in the Shiroro Local Government of Niger State Sunday evening.

According to reports, the villagers were heading to Dnaweto; a neighbouring village in the hinterland for a naming ceremony at about 4:00 pm on Sunday evening when the boat accident occurred

While confirming the accident, Salis Saba Esq, the spokesperson for the Coalition of Shiroro Associations (COSA), said the boat accident was a result of the creation of a dam in the community.

“Prior to the construction of Zungeru Dam, travelling between these two villages was by land and need not water transportation, as the terrain was majorly dry and motorable.

“This is one of the social upheaval occasioned by the construction of the dam. At the time of this report, one corpse is yet to be recovered from the water,” Salis Saba said.

He therefore asked HYPPADEC to as matter of urgency provides safety kike life jackets to help residents adapt to also prevent a future occurrence of such.