46 bodies recovered, 24 missing in Sokoto boat accident

At least 46 bodies have been recovered after a boat carrying 77 passengers capsized in Goronyo Local Government Area of Sokoto State, the police said on Thursday.

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Twenty-four passengers were still missing, while seven had been rescued as search efforts continued, according to the police.

The state police command’s spokesperson, Ahmad Rufai, told PREMIUM TIMES on telephone that the boat was travelling from Gorau to Birjingo when the accident occurred.

“There were 77 passengers moving from Gorau to Birjingo. Seven rescued alive and 46 recovered dead, while 24 declared missing. Search is still on,” Mr Rufai said.

The police figures account for all 77 passengers, but could change as rescuers continued searching for the 24 people still missing.

Other accounts of the accident on Thursday gave different casualty figures.

Reuters reported that its correspondent saw 50 bodies, many wrapped for burial, at a community mosque in Gorau. The news agency quoted Nasiru Adamu, a member of the Sokoto State House of Assembly, as saying 16 passengers had been rescued.

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Reuters also quoted a resident, Sharhabilu Kiliya, as saying the death toll had subsequently risen to 53.

The Associated Press, meanwhile, quoted Abdulkadir Yusuf, the Sokoto State manager of the National Inland Waterways Authority, as putting the death toll at 47. The report said officials and residents also gave varying estimates of the number of passengers aboard the boat.

The differences could not immediately be reconciled.

The cause of the accident had yet to be established as of the time of filing this report.

Similar accident a year ago

The latest tragedy comes about a year after another major boat accident in the same local government area.

On 17 August 2025, a canoe carrying more than 50 passengers capsized around Kojiyo village while travelling to Goronyo Market, according to the National Emergency Management Agency.

NEMA said at the time that the accident prompted a multi-agency search involving the agency, the Sokoto State Emergency Management Agency, the National Inland Waterways Authority, Goronyo Local Government Council and local divers.

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Following the search operation and a joint fact-finding exercise, the Sokoto State Government said four passengers died, 41 were rescued and five remained missing.

The government also said it had procured 20 motorised boats and life jackets for distribution to riverine communities in the state, with two of the boats allocated to Goronyo Local Government Area.

The recurrence of another major boat accident in Goronyo about a year later raises fresh questions about water-transport safety in communities where residents depend on boats to reach farms, markets and neighbouring settlements.