The Niger State Government on Monday released N13m to the families of the victims of Saturday boat mishap, adding that 26 corpses of the victims had been recovered in Zamare, a town in the Borgu Local Government Area of the state.
The Commissioner for Transport, Mallam Garba Mohammed, told newsmen that the accident was caused when the boat ran into overgrown trees and rocks in the river.
The commissioner, who was flanked by his counterpart in the Ministry of Justice, Abdullahi Bawa Wuse and the Special Adviser on Emergency, Alhaji Mohammed Shaba, at the press briefing, said immediately the disaster was reported, government sent a team to the area.
He said it was at the scene that it was discovered that the driver of the boat was alive.
The commissioner added that the driver gave them the account of how the incident happened.
Garba said the account of the driver showed that more than 80 passengers were on board the ill-fated boat, adding that 20 of the deceased were adults while the remaining were children.
Some of the deceased, he said, were of Hausa, Fulani and Dukawa tribes.
He said, “The boat driver violated the law on water transportation in the state by not allowing the passengers to wear life jackets and paddle the boat without a balloon.”
Garba added that the driver would be prosecuted according to the state law.
The commissioner disclosed that the state government would soon send a delegation to New Bussa to condole with the Emir, Senator Haliru Dantoro, members of his traditional council and the people of Borgu Local Government Area over the sad incident.
The delegation, he said, would include him, the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice and the Special Adviser Emergency Management.
Meanwhile, information available to the media on Monday indicated that the state government had banned all forms of water transportation in the affected local government area.
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