Sokoto’s endless season of sorrow: 110 killed in tragic boat mishaps

By Musa Ubandawaki, SOKOTO

Sokoto State is experiencing yet another season of grief, as deadly boat mishaps continue to decimate lives across riverine communities. The frequency of these tragedies underscores years of neglect in water transportation safety and exposes the repeated failures of authorities to safeguard vulnerable citizens.

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In the space of just one month, 36 people have perished in separate boat disasters across Goronyo, Sabon Birni and Shagari local government areas. This grim statistic has now pushed the death toll from boat accidents in Sokoto to 74 since 2020, leaving countless families in anguish.

The most recent calamity occurred on Thursday, August 29, 2025, in Shagari LGA, when a boat carrying villagers capsized. One passenger was confirmed dead, while an 80-year-old woman remains missing, three days after the disaster. Survivors described the ordeal as terrifying, recounting how rescuers searched tirelessly through the night but failed to locate the missing victim.

…in August

Earlier in August, tragedy befell the community of Kojiyo in Goronyo LGA, where a heavily loaded boat went under. More than 25 people were declared missing. According to emergency officials, only four bodies were recovered two weeks later, leaving families in perpetual grief and communities traumatised.

In another heart-rending episode, Garin-Faji in Sabon Birni LGA witnessed disaster caused by insecurity. As bandits attacked their village, terrified residents rushed into an overloaded vessel in a desperate bid to flee. The boat capsized midstream, killing six instantly, while three others remain unaccounted for. Survivors described the incident as a nightmare borne out of fear and desperation.

These fresh tragedies rekindle memories of the state’s darkest moments on water. In 2022, Gidan Magana village in Shagari LGA lost 29 lives, mostly women and children, when their canoe capsized on the Shagari Earth Dam. Among the victims were a traditional ruler and a young bride-to-be whose dreams were cruelly cut short.

Similarly, August 2020 was another day of sorrow in Birjingo, Goronyo LGA as tragedy struck on that fateful day. Nine women drowned when an overcrowded canoe carrying over 30 passengers capsized while ferrying farmers to rice fields. Poor safety conditions, fragile canoes, and the absence of life jackets contributed to the tragedy. That incident was expected to serve as a wake up call. Yet five years on, the lessons remain unlearned, and Sokoto continues to bury its dead, repeating the same cycle of loss.

Who’s to blame?

 Experts and humanitarian groups have consistently blamed these recurring disasters on unsafe practices. They point to the use of fragile wooden canoes, the absence of motorised boats, and the lack of life jackets. With no regulatory framework to enforce safety, water travel has remained a death trap.

 Most of the boats in use today are old, rickety vessels never designed for the weight they carry. Yet, for thousands of riverine dwellers, these unsafe canoes remain the only link to markets, schools, and farmlands. In their struggle for survival, they gamble with their lives every day.

 Successive governments have also been faulted for failing to keep their promises. Over the years, officials pledged to provide modern motorised boats, enforce safety protocols and improve rural water transport. But the pledges have remained on paper, leaving communities to bury loved ones after every accident.

 Civil society organisations, humanitarian agencies and community leaders are now demanding urgent government intervention. They are calling on the Sokoto State Government to declare a state of emergency on water transportation and enforce strict safety standards. According to them, unless drastic measures are implemented, the rivers of Sokoto will remain mass graves for the poor and the vulnerable, whose only crime is trying to survive.

Insecurity

 The tragedy of insecurity has only worsened the crisis. In some areas, villagers forced to flee bandits are left with no choice but to crowd into unsafe boats at night, turning rivers into escape routes and, too often, watery graves. For grieving families, words of condolence have become hollow. Their pain lingers on the riverbanks where loved ones disappeared, replaced by unanswered questions and unkempt promises. The cries of widows, orphans and parents remain haunting reminders of government neglect.

 Today, as Sokoto counts 36 deaths in a single month and 74 since 2020, the sense of helplessness grows deeper. Each tragedy leaves fresh wounds on communities already scarred by insecurity and poverty. The rivers of Sokoto, which should sustain life, have become synonymous with death. Unless urgent action is taken, these waters will continue to swallow the innocent, leaving the state in endless mourning.

 And so, the question echoes across every grieving village: how many more lives must be lost before Sokoto takes decisive action to end this avoidable cycle of death?

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