THE National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Wednesday said that three bodies have so far been recovered from the boat accident in Sokoto State.
It said that 25 people out of the over 50 passengers of the boat had so far been rescued.
The agency, however, said that it had concluded the search and rescue operation.
NEMA’s Head of Sokoto Operation Office, Aliyu Kafindangi, disclosed this on Wednesday.
“For the past three days, we have been on a rescue mission after a boat carrying farmers, market men, and women capsized.
“The boat capsized on Sunday with over 50 passengers on board. Luckily for us, that very day, 25 people were rescued alive. And then the following day, search and rescue continued, but we were not able to retrieve anybody,” Kafindangi said on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief.
“But yesterday [Tuesday], three bodies were retrieved. We are getting a report that some of the bodies have been retrieved, but we are going after this interview.
“But as it is, search and rescue has been called off because it’s expected that after 24 hours, there is no chance of finding any survivors of the boat accident,” he added.
Kafindangi said the wooden boat was overloaded with passengers and other items.
He said the agency had always engaged the communities, the local canoe operators, the divers, and the community leaders, youth leaders, market and the local government and the state officials on safety on waterways.
The NEMA official added, “We always sensitise, educate, and tell them what to do, tell them how to operate their canoes. For example, the canoe was overloaded. It’s a wooden canoe with over 50 passengers, with about seven motorcycles.”
On Tuesday, the member representing Goronyo-Gada Federal Constituency of Sokoto in the House of Representatives, Bashir Gorau, disclosed that 26 persons had been rescued following the accident.
The latest incident adds to the report of boat accidents, which are common on Nigeria’s waterways due to overcrowding and poor maintenance of local boats.
In August 2024, at least 16 farmers died when a wooden canoe carrying them across a river to their rice fields capsized in Sokoto state.
In May 2025, a boat accident claimed the lives of at least 27 people in the Gbajibo community in the Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State.
The Kwara tragedy occurred barely seven months after a similar incident claimed the lives of 100 people in the area.
In July 2025, six girls reportedly drowned after a boat taking them home from farm work capsized midstream in Jigawa State.