The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) says it will in line with extant laws investigate cause of the boat mishap which occurred on June 12 at Patigi, Kwara State.
The organisation which stated this in a statement said it will also prosecute those responsible for the accident.
Jibril Darda’u, General Manager, Corporate Affairs, NIWA , signed the statement.
“NIWA as an Authority will not fold its arms and allow reckless boat operators flaunting our safety guidelines and killing innocent commuters,”NIWA said.
The authority said it was deeply saddened by the boat mishap that occurred on 12th June, 2023, along the Jebba Lake channel in the Lafiagi-Patigi Local Government Area of Kwara State in which 106 passengers died.
“This accident was clearly an unfortunate and avoidable one.
“Preliminary investigations through our Area Manager in Minna/Kwara Area Office revealed that the boat driver and wedding guests were on the ill-fated voyage about 2:30am, which speaks volumes about the disregard for the laws regulating Inland Waterways navigation.
“Furthermore, for a wooden boat to have allegedly been carrying more than 200 passengers at once without using life jackets and sailing in the night was certainly gross-overloading and misconduct,” Darda’u said.
The organisation then condoled with the families of those that lost their loved ones in the accident.(vitalnewsngr.com)
