Thirty people drowned when an overloaded boat capsized in central Nigeria’s Niger state, an emergency official told AFP Monday. Local media said some of the victims were people displaced by recent violence in the state.
President Muhammadu Buhari commended the emergency services and the divers for their response and urged Nigeria’s transportation authorities to beef up policing of safety regulations on the waterways.
Boat capsizes are common in Nigeria, mainly because of overcrowding and lack of maintenance, particularly in the annual rainy season. Loss of life is typically high when these accidents occur as many boats do not carry sufficient lifejackets and few know how to swim.
Eighteen people including 15 young girls were killed in November last year when their canoe capsized in a river in northeast Nigeria.
In other news – Nellie Tembe’s close friend exposes all
A friend of the late Anele “Nelli” Tembe has spoken out about abuse she suffered, allegedly at the hands of rapper Kiernan ‘AKA’ Forbes.
She has provided police with a copy of a video Tembe gave to her in March in which Forbes can be seen breaking down a wooden door in their Bryanston apartment. Learn more
Source: guardian
