A boat accident in Niger State has claimed 29 lives, with two others still missing, officials of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) confirmed on Wednesday, September 3.
The mishap occurred on Tuesday morning in Gausawa community, Borgu Local Government Area, when a boat carrying 90 passengers capsized.
The passengers, including women and children, were travelling from Tugan Sule in Shagunu Ward to Dugga for a condolence visit.
Director General of NSEMA, Abdullahi Baba-Arah, said the boat collided with a tree stump due to suspected overloading.
He explained, “NSEMA has received a report of boat mishap incident at a community called Gausawa in Malale area/ward of Borgu LGA.
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“According to our desk officer who led the search and rescue operations, the boat took off from a community called Tugan Sule in Shagunu ward with 90 people on board which includes women and children on the boat heading to Dugga for a condolence visit.”
The DG added, “The incident happened yesterday, 2nd September 2025 at about 11:30am and the cause was attributed to overloading and collision with a tree stomp.
“As at the time of filling this report 29 dead bodies have been recovered with 50 persons rescued alive while 2 people are still missing. Search and rescue operations are still ongoing for possible recovery of missing persons.”
This is the second boat accident in Niger State this year. In July, another mishap, also linked to a tree stump, left several casualties.