The death toll from the horrific boat mishap in Gorau Village, Goronyo Local Government Area of Sokoto State, has risen to 65, with only 11 survivors accounted for, as grief and anger spread across the state .
The tragedy, which occurred on Thursday at the Gorau crossing point, has emerged as one of the deadliest recent waterway disasters in the country, leaving families devastated and communities mourning their loved ones .
The latest casualty figure was recorded on Friday after rescue agencies resumed search operations suspended on Thursday evening due to darkness and difficult conditions. At least 53 bodies had been recovered before the suspension, but the resumption of the search on Friday pushed the confirmed death toll to 65 .
The National Inland Waterways Authority confirmed that 11 persons survived the mishap, including the Village head, Alhaji Na Batsami Gorau. Several of the recovered bodies were buried in accordance with Islamic rites as bereaved families struggled to come to terms with the scale of the disaster .
Rescue officials continued to comb the waterways around the Gorau crossing point, although hopes of recovering more survivors had diminished considerably as the operation progressed .
The Head of Operations, NEMA Sokoto Operations Office, Alhaji Tukur Abubakar, declined to comment on the latest casualty figure and directed all enquiries to the Sokoto State Emergency Management Agency .
Reacting to the tragedy, the Chairman of the Governing Board of NIWA, Alhaji Mukhtar Shehu Shagari, described the incident as painful and devastating, extending condolences to the Sokoto State Government, Goronyo Local Government Council, traditional institutions and families of the victims .
Shagari urged boat operators and passengers to comply strictly with established waterway safety regulations, stressing that tragedies of such magnitude must not become a recurring feature of inland water transportation in the country .
Former Sokoto State Governor and Senator representing Sokoto South, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, also expressed deep sorrow and called for an immediate investigation into the circumstances surrounding the tragedy .
Tambuwal said the investigation should establish both the immediate and remote causes of the accident and ensure appropriate measures were taken to prevent a recurrence, insisting that the recurring loss of lives on Nigeria’s waterways could no longer be dismissed as an inevitable consequence of riverine transportation .
Beyond the immediate circumstances, the member representing Goronyo/Gada Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Bashir Usman Gorau, raised a broader alarm over the condition of the Goronyo Dam and its tributaries, demanding urgent federal intervention to prevent further disasters .
Gorau called on the Federal Government to commence the comprehensive desilting of Goronyo Dam and its tributaries, warning that decades of accumulated silt and sediments had significantly reduced the facility’s water-holding capacity and could worsen flooding and other water-related disasters in 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 .
Gorau described the accumulated sediments as a “clear and present danger” requiring immediate federal intervention, rather than waiting for disasters to occur before authorities mobilise emergency relief and rescue operations .
“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 further appealed to the Federal Government to combine the desilting programme with stronger waterway safety enforcement, improved emergency response mechanisms, provision of adequate life jackets, proper regulation of boat operations and sustained monitoring of vulnerable crossing points .
The Goronyo tragedy has consequently reignited a national debate over the safety of Nigeria’s inland waterways and the need for government to invest in preventive infrastructure rather than continue to respond only after disasters have claimed lives .
