Sokoto in perpetual mourning: 36 dead in one month

…as boat mishaps push fatalities to 74 since 2020

•Govt blamed for neglect of water transport safety

By Musa Ubandawaki,   

Sokoto State has once again been thrown into mourning as tragic boat mishaps continue to ravage riverine communities, exposing the glaring neglect of water transportation safety and the repeated failure of authorities to protect vulnerable citizens.

In the last one month alone, 36 lives have been lost in separate boat accidents across Goronyo, Sabon Birni, and Shagari Local Government Areas.

This staggering figure has now pushed the total number of recorded deaths from boat mishaps in Sokoto to 74 between the year 2020 and 2025.

The most recent disaster struck on Thursday, August 29, 2025, in Shagari Local Government Area.

A boat carrying villagers capsized, killing one passenger while an 80-year-old woman remains missing three days after the tragedy.

Survivors described the ordeal as terrifying, recounting how rescuers battled through the night without success in locating the missing victim.

25 missing

 Just weeks earlier, the village of Kojiyo in Goronyo Local Government was plunged into grief when a boat accident left over 25 people missing.

According to the Sokoto State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), and the Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), only four bodies were eventually recovered two weeks later, leaving families in anguish and communities in despair.

In another heart-wrenching episode, Garin-Faji in Sabon Birni Local Government witnessed a deadly boat mishap caused by insecurity.

Villagers, fleeing a night attack by bandits, crowded into an unstable vessel in desperation.

The boat capsized mid-river, killing six instantly while three others remain missing. Survivors said the desperate attempt to escape violence turned into an unforgettable nightmare.

Water disaster

These recurrent tragedies rekindle memories of perhaps the worst water disaster in Sokoto’s history.

Three years ago, in Gidan Magana village of Shagari Local Government, 29 people mostly women and children lost their lives including a traditional ruler when their canoe capsized while crossing the Shagari Earth Dam in search of firewood.

Among the victims was a bride to be, whose life and dreams were cut short in the cruelest way.

Earlier, in August 2020, another major tragedy struck in Birjingo, also in Goronyo Local Government, where nine women died in an overcrowded canoe.

The vessel, carrying more than 30 passengers, capsized while transporting them to rice farms across the river.

The absence of safety measures and the use of fragile, unsafe canoes contributed to the scale of the disaster.

That incident remains etched in the hearts of the people as one of Sokoto’s darkest days.

Sadly, the lessons that should have been learned have gone unheeded, leaving more families to suffer the same fate over and over again.

Experts and humanitarian groups have repeatedly decried the alarming frequency of boat mishaps in Sokoto, attributing them to a lack of motorized boats, non-provision of life jackets, and the absence of strict safety regulations to govern water transport.

Rickety

Many of the boats currently in use are rickety wooden canoes, unsafe for both human and cargo loads, yet they remain the only available means of survival for thousands of riverine dwellers.

These communities continue to risk their lives daily due to neglect and systemic failure.

Worse still, successive governments have consistently failed to act on promises of safer water transport.

Despite repeated pledges to supply motorized boats and enforce basic safety standards, nothing tangible has been done. Instead, families continue to bury their loved ones as new names are added to the long list of preventable casualties.

Civil society organizations, community leaders, and humanitarian agencies are now calling for urgent intervention.

They are demanding that the Sokoto State Government declare a state of emergency on water transportation and immediately enforce safety protocols before more lives are lost.

They argue that unless urgent measures are implemented, the rivers will remain mass graves for the poor, the vulnerable, and those simply struggling to survive. With insecurity already ravaging parts of the state, unsafe waterways have only compounded the tragedies.

For the grieving families, however, official promises and condolences offer little consolation.

Their cries, soaked into the riverbanks, stand as painful reminders of loved ones lost to waters that should have sustained life but have instead become a recurring issue of death.

Question

 Today, as Sokoto mourns 36 deaths in just one month and 74 overall since 2020, the question remains: How many more lives must be lost before decisive action is taken to end this cycle of preventable tragedies?

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