AT least 20 people, mostly women and children, have been reportedly dead in a boat mishap when a wooden boat capsized near Ocholonya in the Agatu Local Government Area (LGA) of Benue State on Saturday, December 14.
Reports say the victims and traders were returning to Odenyi in Nasarawa Toto LGA of Nasarawa State after attending the Ocholonya market when the accident happened.
According to reports, the victims, who were traders, were travelling back to Odenyi in the Nasarawa Toto Local Government Area of Nasarawa State after visiting the Ocholonya market when the boat accident occurred.
The chairman of Agatu Local Government Area, Melvin James, confirmed the incident to Punch on Sunday, December 15, stating that the victims were visitors to the Ocholonya market in Agatu LGA.
He said that what he had learnt was that the victims’ boat had capsized when they were returning to their base in the Apochi and Odenyi communities in Doma, Nasarawa State.
He stated that he was trying to contact his colleague from Nasarawa State to arrange a visit to the families of the victims and offer condolences. He added that although conflicting reports indicated that 20 people had died, to his knowledge, no corpses had been recovered.
“Locals confirmed that divers have recovered corpses, but as chairman, I must speak authoritatively. I want to establish contact with divers to confirm the actual number of bodies recovered, but their lines were not connecting,” he stated.
The chairman disclosed that he had reached out to the Nigerian Navy commander in the local government area for assistance with the rescue efforts.
In a chat with The ICIR on Sunday, the spokesperson for the state Police Command, Catherine Anene, said she has not received any report on the accident; she, however, promised to confirm and get back to our correspondent.
This is not the first time a boat mishap has happened in Benue State. In July 2020, a tragic boat accident occurred on the River Benue in the Makurdi Local Government Area on Sunday afternoon, leaving at least 21 people dead.
The incident took place around the Kwaghter axis. While some passengers were rescued, 21 others were feared dead.
According to Benue Police spokesperson Anene, 23 members of ECAN Church Ijaha in Makurdi LGA were travelling to a conference across the river when their boat sank around 2:30 pm.
Also in September 2022, six people died following a boat mishap in the Guma Local Government Area of Benue state.
Forty travellers were aboard the boat during the incident, and 26 were rescued, with eight other passengers missing.
Recall that recently the head of operations for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in Kogi State, Justin Uwazuruonye, on November 30, 2024, confirmed that 54 bodies were recovered from a boat accident involving about 200 traders in the state.
He explained that the number of fatalities reported by the Kogi State Emergency Management Agency, the Red Cross, and NEMA stood at 54.
He further pointed out that the lack of a passenger manifest made it challenging to ascertain the exact number of individuals on board.
A reporter with the ICIR
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