The Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, has sent condolence messages to the families of the victims after a boat accident killed at least 37 traders returning home in Niger State on Thursday.
The accident occurred in Gbajibo-Mudi in the Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State.
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The accident happened less than seven months after over 200 passengers died in another boat accident in the same community.
According to sources, the traders were returning from a weekly market to their homes in Niger State.
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The sources said the boat, which had a 100-passenger capacity, was overloaded, and the accident was fueled by the overflowing river.
In a message signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Rafiu Ajakaye, the governor reminded boat operators and passengers to always adhere to safety regulations.
Mr AbdulRazaq also condoled with the government of Niger State on the incident, which occurred in Gbajibo.
He described the culture of not using safety gadgets repeatedly provided by the government as painful and unacceptable.
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The Chairman of Kaiama LG, Abubakar Abdullahi, and the Emir of Kaiama, Muazu Omar, have sympathised with the community.
A former chairman of the local government, Mahmoud Gbajibo, on Saturday, said 37 bodies were recovered from the river by a rescue team of the community.
According to him, “the boat accident occurred at about 6 p.m. on Thursday after the traders left the market in Gbajibo Mudi and were returning to their various communities in Niger State.
He said, “37 corpses were recovered from the river, while many others were rescued from the river.”
