The National Inland Waterways Authority(NIWA) has emphasized that nighttime boat movement on Nigeria’s rivers is still prohibited. It said that it will punish any boat operator who disobeyed the order and pointed out that more than 95% of boat accidents happen at night.
Over 3,133 people have died in boat accidents between January 2013 and June 2023. In the most recent incident, over 106 people died in Pategi, Kwara State; 10 people died in Mbo, Akwa Ibom State; and three medical students died in Calabar, Cross River State.
Malam Jibril Darda’u, the general manager of corporate affairs at NIWA, told our correspondent in an interview that there shouldn’t be any boats on the canals between the hours of 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.
He asserts that this is because African vessels lack the night navigating equipment that is common in affluent nations.
Darda’u reaffirmed that-
“Any operator who flouts the order will meet with our disciplinary committee”.
Additionally, he said that the helmsman of the unfortunate ship, in which three medical students drowned in Calabar, had been detained, his boat had been seized, and he had also been charged.
According to him,
“For the recent one in Calabar, we have arrested the operator, because he was fully registered with us. We don’t certify any boat to operate on our waters without safety guidelines and requirements.
“We have arrested him because he was supposed to have two engines in the boat, but he only had one. So, when the engine failed, he had no option but to remain on the water, waiting for the boat to capsize.
“If he had followed the regulation, this would not have happened. It was his recklessness that killed those medical students. It is very painful because they were final-year students, whose parents were set to rejoice because they were done with school. To us, he killed them. We have charged him to court to serve as a deterrent to others.”
“Most locals always tell us that they are like fishes and do not need life jackets and other safety gadgets, thereby flouting our safety rules. But, we will keep on sensitising them to the dangers of disobeying these rules, including overloading of the vessels and night travels,” Darda’u added.
cc: Punch Ng
