Overloaded boat capsizes in Nigeria’s Niger state, killing 32

At least 32 people have died in Nigeria’s northern Niger State after a boat carrying about 100 passengers capsized on the River Niger in the Borgu area on Tuesday morning, officials said.

The vessel, reportedly overloaded with men, women and children heading to a nearby village to attend a funeral, struck a submerged tree stump and overturned.

Abdullahi Baba Ara, spokesman of the National Emergency Management Agency (Nema) in Niger State, told BBC Hausa on Thursday that more than 50 people had been rescued, while eight remain missing. Search and rescue operations are ongoing.

Ara said the government had deployed “water marshals” to monitor boat operators, prevent overloading, and enforce the use of life jackets.

“Perhaps the water marshals were not on duty when this boat took off,” he added, noting that investigations had begun.

A local district head, Sa’adu Inuwa Muhammad, told Reuters he had witnessed recovery efforts.

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“The boat carried more than 100 people. We were able to recover 31 corpses from the river. The boat was also recovered and removed,” he said.

Boat accidents are frequent in Nigeria, largely due to overloading, poor enforcement of safety rules, and inadequate regulation.

Just last month, 25 people went missing after a boat mishap in Sokoto State, while in December 2024, at least 54 bodies were recovered after another overloaded boat capsized on the River Niger.

The Nigerian government has mandated the use of life jackets and launched awareness campaigns such as “No Life Jacket, No Travel” and “No Night Travelling” in high-risk states.

Earlier this year, the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy also began distributing 42,000 life jackets across 12 riverine states in an effort to curb the recurring tragedies.

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