The police in Sokoto have confirmed that 10 people lost their lives in a boat accident in the Sabon Birni Local Government Area of the state.
The victims were said to be fleeing from an impending attack by bandits in Zalla Bango, a remote village in the council, when the incident occurred.
Though officials of the national and state emergency management agencies have yet to comment on the accident, the spokesman of Sokoto State Police Command, DSP Ahmed Rufai, confirmed that the residents drowned.
Rufai stated that the 10 corpses of the victims were recovered and buried in accordance with Islamic rites last Friday.
“The incident actually happened when the villagers were trying to escape from bandits. Unfortunately, all 10 passengers on board drowned and their corpses have been recovered and buried accordingly,” he stated.
The Chairman of Sabon Birni Local Government Area, Alhaji Ayuba Hashimu, said that efforts were ongoing to determine the exact number of victims.
Hashimu, who visited the scene, explained that the accident happened as villagers were frantically trying to cross the river to evade another wave of attacks.
“The boat hit the edge of a collapsed culvert, which led to its breaking and eventual sinking. We are doing everything possible to rescue survivors and retrieve bodies of the deceased,” he said earlier.
Meanwhile, the police have confirmed that an attack by the Lakurawa terrorists on
Santana village in the Tangaza Local Government Area of the state resulted in the killing of a 47-year-old Village head, Murtala Sa’adu, and his neighbour, Ibrahim Maikudi.
