The death toll from Thursday’s boat mishap at Gorau Village in Goronyo Local Government Area of Sokoto State has risen to 65, with only 11 survivors so far accounted for.
The tragedy has triggered widespread grief and renewed calls for urgent government intervention to improve safety on Nigeria’s inland waterways.
The accident occurred at the Gorau crossing point, where the boat was reportedly carrying residents engaged in farming and other activities across the waterway.
The latest casualty figure was recorded on Friday after rescue agencies resumed search operations that were suspended on Thursday evening due to darkness and difficult operating conditions.
At least 53 bodies had been recovered before the suspension, while additional bodies were recovered when the search resumed on Friday, bringing the confirmed death toll to 65.
The National Inland Waterways Authority, NIWA, confirmed that 11 people survived the accident, including the Village Head of Gorau, Alhaji Na Batsami Gorau.
Several of the recovered bodies were subsequently buried according to Islamic rites as bereaved families and residents struggled to come to terms with the scale of the disaster.
Rescue officials continued searching the waterways around the Gorau crossing point for possible victims, although hopes of finding more survivors had diminished considerably.
The Head of Operations, NEMA Sokoto Operations Office, Alhaji Tukur Abubakar, declined to comment on the latest casualty figure and directed enquiries to the Sokoto State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA.
Attempts to reach the Special Adviser to the Sokoto State Governor on SEMA, Alhaji Aminu Liman Bodinga, for further clarification were unsuccessful as his telephone was switched off at the time of filing this report.
Reacting to the tragedy, the Chairman of the Governing Board of NIWA, Alhaji Mukhtar Shehu Shagari, described the incident as painful and devastating.
Shagari commiserated with the Sokoto State Government, Goronyo Local Government Council, traditional institutions and families of the victims.
He urged boat operators and passengers to strictly comply with established waterway safety regulations, stressing that tragedies of such magnitude must not become a recurring feature of inland water transportation.
Former Sokoto State Governor and Senator representing Sokoto South, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, also expressed deep sorrow over the loss of lives and called for an immediate investigation into the circumstances surrounding the accident.
Tambuwal said the investigation should establish both the immediate and remote causes of the tragedy and ensure that appropriate measures were taken to prevent a recurrence.
He maintained that the recurring loss of lives on Nigeria’s waterways could no longer be dismissed as an inevitable consequence of riverine transportation.
Meanwhile, the member representing Goronyo/Gada Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Bashir Usman Gorau, raised a broader concern over the condition of the Goronyo Dam and its tributaries.
Gorau called on the Federal Government to commence comprehensive desilting of the dam and its tributaries, warning that decades of accumulated silt and sediments had significantly reduced the facility’s water-holding capacity.
According to the lawmaker, the dam, constructed by the Federal Government more than five decades ago, has accumulated significant sediments over the years, compromising its original capacity and increasing the vulnerability of surrounding communities.
“A dam that was designed decades ago cannot continue to function effectively when its reservoir and waterways are choked with sediments. The capacity of Goronyo Dam has been seriously compromised, and the consequences are being felt every year by communities living downstream and around the dam,” Gorau said.
He warned that the continued deterioration of the dam and its tributaries could worsen the vulnerability of communities during periods of heavy rainfall, potentially resulting in flooding, destruction of property, displacement and further loss of lives.
Gorau described the accumulated sediments as a “clear and present danger” requiring immediate federal intervention rather than waiting for disasters to occur before authorities respond.
He urged the Federal Government, relevant ministries and agencies responsible for water resources, dams and disaster management to declare the desilting of Goronyo Dam and its tributaries an emergency intervention.
The lawmaker stressed that the exercise should extend beyond the dam’s reservoir to critical tributaries and waterways feeding the facility.
“We cannot continue to wait until people are killed, communities are submerged and property worth millions is destroyed before we take action. Goronyo Dam has served the nation for over five decades; it now requires urgent rehabilitation and desilting to restore its capacity and protect the people. The time to act is now, before another life is lost,” Gorau declared.
He also called for stronger waterway safety enforcement, improved emergency response mechanisms, adequate provision of life jackets, proper regulation of boat operations and sustained monitoring of vulnerable crossing points.
The Goronyo tragedy has renewed concerns over the safety of Nigeria’s inland waterways and the need for greater investment in preventive infrastructure and safety measures.
As Sokoto mourns the 65 victims, pressure is mounting on the Federal Government, NIWA, NEMA, SEMA and other relevant authorities to move beyond condolences and emergency responses and implement lasting measures to protect lives and livelihoods.
