No fewer than seven persons died last Sunday in a boat mishap at Zhigiri village, Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State
The development was made known in a statement issued Tuesday night by the spokesperson of Coalition of Shiroro Associations, (COSA), Silas Saba, in Minna, the state’s capital.
Saba, who decried the current challenges caused by the establishment of the Zungeru hydro-electric power dam in the community, confirmed that the incident occurred at about 4 p.m. on Sunday.
He recalled that the incident occurred when the villagers were sailing to Dnaweto; a neighbouring village in the hinterland for a naming ceremony.
“Prior to the construction of Zungeru Dam, traveling between these two villages was by land and need not water transportation, as the terrain was majorly dry and motorable.
“This is one of the social upheaval occasioned by the construction of the dam,” Saba lamented.
Saba called on Hydro-electric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC) to respond to the incessant accident and attendant causality by providing safety measures such as life jackets and standard boats, among others, so as to help the people to adapt to their new way of life of water transportation.
He said that providing these measures and sensitizing the people on the use of the waterway would prevent and minimize future occurrence.
Meanwhile, the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, (NSEMA) says only the driver and a woman survived the boat mishap.
Ahmed Inga, the Director-General of the agency, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Minna on Wednesday that the bodies of the seven victims of the mishap had also been recovered.
He said that the boat sailed on the water from the ongoing construction of the Zungeru hydro electric power dam.
“The boat driver and a lady survived while seven person lost their lives to the unfortunate incident.
“The bodies of the deceased have been recovered and buried,” he said.
NAN
