No fewer than twenty corpses of victims of a recent boat accident have been recovered in Taraba State.
The state’s Commissioner for Special Duties and Social Development Saviour Nokusais this after visiting the Binneri community alongside the state deputy governor where the boat capsized last Saturday
The state Deputy Governor Aminu Alkali in an interview after an on-the-spot assessment and condolences to the affected community and families banned night journeys on waterways.
Upon arrival, the Deputy Governor was told that barricades on the waterways by fishermen in attempts to trap fish were the major cause of the mishap.
He instructed that all barricades on the waterways be cleared within seven days.
According to him, the state government will henceforth not tolerate the overloading of boats or canoes, or movement without passenger manifests and life jackets.
He said government will investigate deeply to unravel the root cause of the boat mishap and punish culprits accordingly.
”Our visit here is to ensure three principal issues: to stop overloading, to ensure that there will be no more night travelling and the canoes or boats must have passengers manifest so that whatever happens we can easily identify one’s relations,” he said.
They should also ensure they have life jackets for passengers for protection because not all persons can swim. The colossal loss witnessed in the state is regrettable and the government has directed that the barricades be removed within seven days.”
According to reports the boat was overloaded with bags of cement, building irons, food items, animals, and over 100 passengers including children.
Minutes into the journey, it hit a wooden barricade on the waterways, hindering its movement, hence the capsizing.
The rider of the boat said while riding they got to a barricade two hours after take off and tried all they could to maneuver, but did not succeed and in the process, the boat started getting filled with water.
He revealed that about 50 to 60 passengers of his boat got drowned while some that hung on to others who knew how to swim succeeded in getting to the river bank.
Residents of the area say, though this is not the first occurrence, it is the first time the state government is visiting to sympathise and they are appreciative.
They however want a total removal of the barricades by the fishermen to avert future accidents.
