Many passengers, mostly traders, have died when their boat capsized in the River Niger along the Lapai axis of Niger State on Wednesday night.
The victims were said to be travelling from Bugge village in Kogi State to Sokun Village in Niger State, carrying over 200 bags of paddy rice, when the boat overturned due to cloudy weather and a violent windstorm.
Among the deceased were two brothers from Alaba Village in Lapai LGA, Ismail Alaba, a POS operator in Lapai town, and his younger sibling.
The Director General of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, Abdullahi Baba Arah, confirmed the incident but noted that the agency was still working to determine both the number of victims and the exact cause of the mishap.
In the past eight months, at least 78 people—mostly farmers, traders and children—have died in boat mishaps across Niger State between September 2024 and April 2025.
The deadliest incident occurred on October 1, 2024, when 44 Maulud celebrants drowned at Gbajibo in Mokwa LGA of the state.
The boat, which had about 300 people on board, capsized a short distance from the victims’ destination.
