TWO females, Misturat Okunbanjo and Azeezat Amoo, have been confirmed dead in a boat mishap that occurred on Thursday, in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State.
This was disclosed in a statement on Friday, October 28 by the agency’s Deputy Director, Public Affairs , Ololade Agboola.
Agboola said the passengers were on their way to Isawo from Olorunsogo area of the community when the boat capsized.
The search and rescue operation was conducted by men of the Fire Service with the assistance of locals which led to the recovery of the bodies.
The statement read, “The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service conducted overnight operations and successfully rescued four female adults while recovering two others in the Isawo community of the Ikorodu area of Lagos.
“The accident was reported at 8:16 pm on Thursday, prompting the deployment of the search and rescue crew from the agency. The crew collaborated with locals who were familiar with the terrain.
He explained that the crew resumed their efforts in the early hours of Friday to continue the search when they recovered the bodies of two females, identified as Misturat Okunbanjo, 18, and Azeezat Amoo, 16. The recovery operation ended at approximately 10:10 pm, he stated.
Nigeria has witnessed a troubling trend in boat accidents. The ICIR reported that 1,204 people lost between January 2018 and October 2023 over the past six years.
The ICIR data shows that 17 people die monthly from boat mishaps when 1,204 is divided by the 70 months within the review period.
Emergency services attributed these accidents to factors like overcrowding, inadequate boat maintenance, reliance on ageing vessels, and neglecting safety gear.
Nurudeen Akewushola is an investigative reporter and fact-checker with The ICIR. He believes courageous in-depth investigative reporting is the key to social justice, accountability and good governance in the society. You can shoot him a scoop via [email protected] and @NurudeenAkewus1 on Twitter.
