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58 Rescued As Death Toll In Niger Boat Accident Hits 30 — NEMA
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By Prosper Olayiwola
The death toll in the Niger boat accident has reached 30, with 58 persons rescued so far, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has said.
NEMA in a statement on Thursday said rescue efforts are, however, still ongoing over the incident which happened on Tuesday in Gausawa community, Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State.
“Witnesses at the scene of the incident revealed that about 90 persons were onboard the ill-fated vessel,” the agency said about the accident, which left several families grieving.
“So far, 58 passengers have been rescued, while over 30 lives have been lost as one additional body was recovered this afternoon. Several other passengers remain unaccounted for, with search and rescue efforts still ongoing.”
According to investigations, the most recent boat incident was “caused by overloading of the vessel, compounded by a collision with a tree stump along the water channel.”
In the meantime, NEMA’s Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Zubaida Umar, has directed the agency’s Minna Operations Office to intensify the ongoing rescue efforts.
Already, the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) is leading the rescue operation with other stakeholders, including the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC), Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS), local divers, and community volunteers.
Meanwhile, NIWA has decried the lack of adherence to safety measures on waterways.
NIWA’s General Manager (Business Development), Olawale Adetola, lamented the fatalities recorded in the country in recent times due to boat accidents.
“Well, let me first express the authorities’ condolences to the people of Niger about this recent boat accident. We are tired of hearing all these fatalities coming through boat accidents,” he said on Thursday’s edition of Channels Television’s The Morning Brief.
“We are doing all we can as an authority to make sure that things like this don’t happen. We’ve done enlightenment and sensitisation of all boat operators to be safety conscious while using their boats on water.
“We have distributed life jackets to protect lives in case of this kind of accident. But by and large, people don’t adhere to the safety regulations that we have put in place.”
Tuesday’s incident adds to the growing number of boat accidents in Nigeria in recent months.
In August, rescue workers said they were searching for more than 40 people after a boat accident in Sokoto.
About one year before that, at least 16 farmers died in a similar accident when a wooden canoe carrying them across a river to their rice fields capsized in Sokoto state.
Experts have blamed poor regulation, non-adherence to safety measures as some of the causes of the frequent incidents.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, has slashed its fuel pump price for the second time within four days.
A market survey on Saturday by DAILY POST showed that NNPCL retail outlets around Airport Junction and Wuse Zone 6 (Berger) in Abuja have reduced their petrol price to N1210 per litre, down from N1260.
This means that the state-owned oil firm slashed the petrol price by N50 per litre.
This comes barely two days after Dangote Refinery reduced its petrol gantry price by N50 to N1,125 per litre.
Recall that four days ago, NNPCL had adjusted its fuel price pump by N75 per litre to N1260.
With the latest drop by NNPCL retail outlets, petrol prices stand between N1210 per litre and N1305 per litre in Abuja and its environs.
The reduction in domestic fuel comes amid falling crude oil prices, which stand at $69 per barrel and $71 per barrel for West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude, respectively, following the easing of the conflict in the Middle East.
Recall that President Bola Tinubu has kept mum amid the clamour by Nigerians for a commensurate drop in domestic fuel pump prices due to the significant reduction in crude oil prices.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has said it is yet to receive the Certified True Copy, CTC, of the Federal High Court judgment that set aside an earlier order directing it to register the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, as a political party.
INEC revealed this in a statement issued on Saturday by its Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to the Chairman, Adedayo Oketola.
According to the commission, although it is aware of media reports on the judgment delivered by the Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja on June 26, it cannot comment on the ruling until it obtains and reviews the certified copy.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, is aware of reports circulating in the media regarding the judgment delivered on Friday, June 26, 2026, by the Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja, which set aside an earlier order concerning the registration of the Nigeria Democratic Congress.
“However, as of this moment, the Commission has not yet received the Certified True Copy, CTC, of the court’s order,” the statement said.
INEC stated that its legal department would study the judgment upon receipt of the CTC before advising the commission on the next course of action.
“Once the Commission’s legal department receives and thoroughly studies the CTC of the judgment, INEC will take an informed, lawful decision in line with the court’s directives.
“Until then, we cannot comment on the specifics of the ruling, and the public is urged to await the Commission’s formal position on the matter,” Oketola added.
Justice Isah Dashen of the Federal High Court in Lokoja had on Friday set aside the court’s December 10, 2025, judgment directing INEC to register the NDC as a political party.
The court held that the rights of the Peace Movement Party were affected by the earlier judgment because it was not joined in the suit despite claiming ownership of the logo relied upon in securing the registration order.
Justice Dashen consequently ordered that all parties be restored to the positions they occupied before the December 2025 judgment and directed that the substantive suit be heard afresh with all necessary parties joined.
The NDC has rejected the ruling and announced plans to appeal the decision. Its National Chairman, Senator Moses Cleopas, maintained that the party had not been deregistered and argued that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to revisit a matter on which it had already delivered a final judgment.
The ruling has also attracted reactions from opposition figures, including the NDC’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, the party’s National Leader, Senator Henry Dickson, and other stakeholders, who described the decision as a threat to Nigeria’s multiparty democracy and vowed to challenge it through all available legal channels.
INEC, however, maintained that it would reserve its position on the judgment until it receives and reviews the Certified True Copy.
A joint police operation rescued five victims abducted near Ogbere Forest in Ogun state on Wednesday.
They were rescued within 25 hours by the Lagos and Ogun Police Commands, which were part of a joint operation codenamed KOSAYE, meaning “No Space” in Yoruba.
The woman was among the victims who were shot in the incident. Her daughter and sister were among those rescued by the police on Thursday.
NNPC slashes petrol price twice within four days
Lokoja Court order: INEC speaks on NDC, says it’s yet to receive CTC
Just in: Police rescue five abductees in Ogun
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