Death in The Water: Systemic failures fuel boat accidents along River Niger

Under the calm skies of a late February evening in Patigi, Kwara State, over 60 people crowded into a small boat departing Etsungi ferry port for Minna, the capital of Niger state. The vessel, overloaded by double its capacity, lurched away from the dock well past a safe hour for travel.

Had the passengers, mostly traders returning after the day’s business, chosen the road instead, their trip would have taken about six to seven hours and cost nearly N4,000. By boat, they paid N400 and made it under an hour.

As dusk settled, and without lighting, the worn-out vessel slowly sailed eastward, drifting along the evening waves as its fatigued occupants sprawled across its deck – none wearing a life jacket as required by federal regulation.

Last June, a boat traveling in the same area at night, also overcrowded without safety kits, ended in a tragedy with over 100 people dead.

Workers at the Etsungi ferry port in Patigi eerily recalled that event, but cared less. “Our people believe that those who lost their lives died because that was their fate,” said Mohammed Baba, a boat operator.

While the cause of the accident remains under investigation, the top regulator cited the late travel and travellers’ disregard for safety protocols as possible factors.

“This accident was clearly an unfortunate and avoidable one,” said the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA).

The agency said the boat was travelling at about 2:30am. NIWA said, “for a wooden boat to have allegedly been carrying more than 200 passengers at once without using life jackets and sailing in the night was certainly gross-overloading and misconduct.”

Nearly a year after Nigeria’s deadliest boat accident in five years, a joint investigation by Pluboard and Premium Times found no real change in how people travel by water in the region. Safety upgrades remain absent, and systemic failures continue to plague the inland waterway sector. The failures include regulatory shortcomings, operational issues, and a disregard for safety rules.

The examination found rampant use of dilapidated boats, continued night-time travel, a lack of safety gear usage, overcrowding, and weak enforcement of regulations. In some coastal areas, we found a troubling conflict of interest as local leaders, who own many boats, are responsible for enforcing regulations.

Compounding the problem, government interventions often fall short. Regulators prioritize urban areas, leaving remote communities that rely heavily on water transport with minimal government presence and emergency services. The lack of oversight allows unscrupulous operators flout safety regulations and run dangerous trips using unmaintained boats.

NIWA acknowledged problems, especially the challenge of boat quality.

“The problem we are facing is people use rickety boats and boats that have stayed too long and they are not supposed to use them,” NIWA’s deputy manager for corporate affairs, Suleiman Makama, told us.

“If you ask there will say this boat that my great grandfather used and passed it to my father, and my father passed it to me, so they patch up the boat and do over loading.”

Persisting accidents

Nigeria’s vast waterways, stretching over 10,000 km, hold immense transportation potential, but only 3,800 km are navigable year-round.

Because a significant portion of waterway transport operates informally, operators often bypass safety regulations. Underdeveloped infrastructure and limited enforcement add to the safety crisis, experts say.

Chinedum Onyemechi, a professor of Maritime Innovation, Transportation, and Strategy at the Federal University of Technology Owerri, identified some of the factors blighting water transportation in Nigeria as: “Bad boats, a good number of which lack class by classification societies, poorly-trained boatsmen, and poor training facilities.”

“A good number of the causes are already covered in the news,” he said.

Between 2019 and 2023, Nigeria recorded 71 fatal boat accidents with at least 1,072 fatalities, according to our compilation of reported figures. The regulator, NIWA, did not provide data requested through a freedom of information request.

Our show that in the last five years, 2023 was the deadliest year with 421 deaths, and the single deadliest accidents occurred in Kwara (June 2023: 106 deaths), Taraba (October 2023: 100 deaths) and Kebbi (May 2021: 98 deaths).

Since the accident in Kwara state last June, the nation has recorded 15 more accidents, with at least 278 fatalities. The latest incident occurred early April 10 in the Delta State’s section of the River Niger, taking the lives of Nollywood actor Junior Pope and four others.

Our review focused on factors that could cause accidents on inland waterways and steps to prevent them: state of boats, operators’ skills, travel time, overcrowding, navigation, and regulatory enforcement.

We examined measures to minimize impact if a crash happens, including the use of life jackets and emergency response. We also assessed post-accident measures such as investigation and implementation of recommendations, punishing those responsible, and providing support to survivors and the sector.

Not playing by the rules

The NIWA has an elaborate regimen of regulations. Some of the most relevant are:

• Trips should be from 6 am to 6 pm daily.
• Boat operators must not exceed the capacity of the vessel.
• Operators should avoid using old and rickety boats—defined as any boat that has been in use for more than five years.
• Boat operators must refrain from consuming alcohol or drugs before and during boat rides.
• Passengers must always wear life jacketsbefore boarding a boat.
• All boats and boat operators must be registered with NIWA.
• Operators should regularly check weather conditionsto ensure safe sailing.
• Before setting sail, boat operators are required to share safety knowledge with passengers.
• Operators are required to carry hand paddles, which can be crucial in case of engine failure.

In 2022, the agency announced it would begin the enforcement of new regulations gazetted by the federal ministry of justice. The rules imposed a seven-year sentence on watercraft operators and passengers who fail to use life jackets or violate waterways regulations. The same penalty applies to jetty operators who run overcrowded boats or operate past 7 pm.

Despite having these rules in place and speaking against violations, enforcement has remained lax. The NIWA lacks patrol presence at several inland waterway locations, such as in Patigi, Kwara state.

During our visits to riverine communities in Kwara and Kogi States, along the Niger River, Nigeria’s top federal navigable waterway, our teams found nearly all the regulations were observed in breach.

Passengers did not receive safety briefings, and many did not wear jackets. While operators complained about the high cost of jackets, where donated jackets were available, some passengers complained they could not use gears worn previously by others. Operators did not use the gears.

Most of the boats were in poor condition and overcrowded. Night journeys were commonplace. We saw boats that had no NIWA stickers, meaning they were not registered.

“Virtually all the vessels used for transport on Etsungi Ferry Port should normally not be allowed to ply that waterways because they are poorly maintained, apart from being overly aged and rickety,” said Afeez Adewale, a captain and top officer at the Nigeria Army Forward Operating Base, Patigi, Kwara state, who leads regular patrols around the area.

The challenge extends to other ports we visited in the area.

“Virtually all the ferry ports in Patigi suffer from this problem. I know this because we are always on patrol even at night to carry out surveillances on the activities at the banks of River Niger. This I can say is one of the factors that is often responsible for constant boat accidents on waterways,” Mr Adewale said.

Mohammed Ndako Kutigi, a 48-year-old boat operator at Etsungi Ferry Port in Patigi, acknowledged the poor quality of boats. He said it was difficult to properly maintain or replace boats because of cost. A new engine-run boat could cost as much as N4 million.

“Most of the transport-unworthy ferries would have been off the waterways and that would have helped stem the tide of boat mishaps” if there had been adequate monitoring, he said.

Despite their conditions, the boats are largely overcrowded. “Both the operators and passengers often want to maximize the economic gains offered by the waterways transport systems because it is so cheap in sharp contrast to road transport. As a result, they often overload the vessels with cargoes and human passengers,” Mr Adewale said.

June 15 Incident

Communities along the River Niger rely largely on water transportation due to the poor condition of roads in their localities. In Kwara, for example, where deplorable conditions forced up transport fares, a round trip from Patigi headquarters to Kpada, a far-flung community some two hours away by motorcycle, cost N10,000.

Isolated from the rest of the state due to the poor road network, residents, many of them rice farmers and fishermen, find themselves geographically closer to Kogi and Niger States.

The June 15 deadly boat accident occurred at Kpada. The passengers were returning from a wedding ceremony at Egboti, a town on the other side of the river, at night. Using motorcycles or okada would have not only been too expensive, but the roads would also not have been passable since it had rained heavily the previous day.

Over 200 wedding guests boarded the boat, with some bringing their motorbikes aboard, according to local accounts. As the boat set sail from the waterside, the clouds still dark, disaster struck within minutes. The boat collided with an obstacle, causing water to rush in as the engine faltered. Most of the dead were women and children.

When our reporter visited the most affected communities —Dzakan, Kuchalu, Sampi, Kpada, Ebu, and Egboti — locals were still grappling with their losses.

A community leader in Kpada, Muhammad Ndanusa, said the town was still in mourning.

Thirty-nine-year-old Fatimah Makwoji’s husband died of illness just 40 days before the boat accident. Her son perished in the boat mishap while she was pregnant.

Gana Alhassan, a retired director at the Kwara State Civil Service and a community leader, who spoke on behalf of Mrs Makwoji and other grieving families, said they now rely on the generosity of immediate family members and the community.

Rakiyat Issa, a 42-year-old trader, lost her 25-year-old daughter in the boat tragedy. Two sisters — Fati and Ayarat Ndaji, aged 17 and 19, respectively— perished in the accident.

At Ebu, Mohammad Dapotun Ebu, a 44-year-old fisherman, said he lost 28 relatives. His family compound stood virtually empty, enveloped in silence during our visit.

Alhassan Idris Ebu, a rice and cassava farmer, said he lost 10 relatives.

Delayed promise

Despite the tragedy, disregard for safety persists at ports we visited in Kwara, including Pata Ebu and Etsungi.

In boat after boat, most passengers and operators arrived and departed without life jackets. In one striking case, dozens of donated life jackets hang nearby while people travelled without them.

Rickety vessels powered by small engines carried passengers beyond the capacity, many with additional cargoes such as motorcycles. Night travel continued too – all without monitoring and enforcement by the authorities.

Locals said things improved a little after the traditional leader in the area, the Etsu Nupe, gave instructions following the last accident that boats reduce passenger numbers to minimize the risk of accidents.

The boat that journeyed from Etsungi to Minna left without light at past 7pm and locals said it was normal.

“The people riding the boats know the job. They know the road, they don’t use light,” said Mr Baba, the boat operator.

Asked why there was poor observance of safety protocols despite the recent tragedy, Mr Baba, 56, said it bordered on traditional and religious beliefs in fate. “Boat accidents would keep happening until we are able to take lessons of the past tragic incident,” he said.

Passenger Abubakar lamented the state of the boats: “I find it difficult to imagine that old vessels could not be replaced by the owners who eke their livings from their services.”

Daily, the ports teem with activities as boats ferry people and goods across the water. For the rice farming communities, it is the only route to markets in neighbouring states, and boats filled with paddy bags are a common sight.

Idris Jubril, a 70-year-old boat operator, said the existing old boats were all the communities could afford. He said a promise by Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State after the last accident, to provide new boats to them had not been fulfilled.

Idris Mohammed, a 67-year-boat operator, made a similar claim.

Governor AbdulRazaq’s office initially denied that he pledged new boats to the communities, despite media coverage of the promise. A spokesperson offered no response on how the governor supported survivors beyond donating life jackets, and what he did to avoid another boat tragedy.

Weeks after our inquiry, the government sent us a statement on March 26 announcing that the governor had fulfilled his commitment by donating five boats and additional life jackets – nine months after the tragedy.

The statement said Kwara State Commissioner for Environment, Shehu Ndanusa Usman, presented five boats and life jackets to the people of Patigi and Lafiagi on behalf of Gov. AbdulRazaq.

“Today marks another milestone in the history of Kwara State since inception in 1967,” Commissioner Usman was quoted as saying by Press Secretary Yakub Kamaldeen Aliagan. “You would recall that during the last boat mishap involving more than one hundred people, His Excellency, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, during his condolences visit, promised to find a lasting solution to the mishap and today we are witnessing promise fulfilled with the donation of standard boats and life jackets, two for Patigi and two for Lafiagi.”

The equipment were presented to the traditional chiefs of the areas – Etsu Patigi, Ibrahim Umar Bologi II, and the Emir of Lafiagi, Muhammad Kawu.

Such sluggish policy responses plague the entire regulatory chain governing Nigeria’s inland waterways.

With government oversight lacking, the industry remains largely in the hands of a few local figures who own most of the boats and have little incentive to implement strict safety measures themselves.

Such arrangement applies in Patigi, as it does in other parts of the country. The chairman of transition implementation committee Patigi Local Government Area, Mohammed Liman, did not respond to calls and a message seeking comments. An official in his office said the boat issue was “sensitive” and Mr Liman may not want to comment.

The official, who did not want to be named because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, said the local government responded to problems in the sector based on resources available to it.

Not different in Kogi

In Kogi, where NIWA has its head office, the problems were the same.

Jubril Asibi, a fisherman, recounted how he barely made out alive from a boat trip with his brother during a trip from Adankolo community in Lokoja, the state capital, to another local government, Ankpa.

For them, it was a regular journey. Going by road would have taken three hours, triple the amount of time if they used the water.

The boat they were travelling in tumbled over under a turbulent weather about 20 minutes into the journey. Mr Asibi, his brother and other passengers managed to swim to safety.

Mr Asibi said besides negligence by boat operators and passengers, many operators are not trained and their knowledge of navigation is poor, which exposes them to the risk of bumping into rocks and other obstacles.

“The water has no signal, the sailors cannot identify where there are obstructions, so they end up bumping into it,” he said.

Other members of his Kabawa community, a Hausa-dominated area in Lokoja, whose residents are mostly fishermen, also pointed to the channel’s low depth.

Idris Abubakar, auditor of the Marine Transporters Association of Nigeria, Kogi State Chapter, said when accidents happen, it takes too long for help to reach the victims.

“If you are not a swimmer, you will end up dying,” he said, recounting his experience in 2022, when he held on mid-water for long before help arrived.

The traditional ruler of the community, Mohammed Tukura, who is known locally as the Sarkin Ruwa, Hausa words for “chief of water”, admitted the poor attitude of operators regarding safety.

“Sometimes people will see that the boat is small and they will keep saying, let me manage, then they end up carrying more than the required number of persons,” he said.

Farouk Bakabe, a fisherman and a youth leader in the community, said NIWA officials occasionally raid the local port and arrest boat operators if passengers have no life jackets. After an accident last year, officials raided the port.

“The government came to arrest some of the transporters when they visit and measures are not taken,” said Mr Bakabe, who said he survived an accident that killed about 50 people. He attributed the incident to shallow waters and poor navigation skills, which should have enabled the boat driver to steer clear of a rock.

Such chance raids have not changed much as only a few passengers wear life jackets. On a February afternoon, our team witnessed multiple boats leaving with several passengers without life jackets from the Ganja shore as children played and screamed nearby.

Federal rules expect captains and sailors to provide their passengers with the jackets before each trip, but operators say a major problem is the cost.

Prices range from ₦7,000 for locally made models with cotton straps and styrofoam pads, to ₦50,000 for high-quality inflatables. Operators complain that given the low amounts they make daily; it is difficult to fork out hundreds of thousands for life jackets for the number of passengers they carry.

“As you can see, not all passengers are wearing their safety jackets, there are no marine officials that can help victims if anything happens around,” said one passenger, Abubakar, who lamented the absence of government presence at ports. He did not give a second name.

There was no indication the authorities punish offenders as the rules provide. NIWA did not also show data evidence of those arrested and sentenced, if any.

It did not also provide evidence showing it properly investigates the tragedies to learn from them and avoid a repeat. NIWA did not provide any report to us as requested.

The main federal agency tasked by law and President Tinubu to investigate the disaster, the Accident Investigation Bureau, too had no report. After the last major accident, the AIB said it was investigating the disaster. A spokesperson did not provide any details when we contacted despite promising to revert.

Professor Onyemechi said there should be more cooperation amongst relevant government agencies, such as NIWA and Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to improve regulation. Those agencies should work with the academic sector to fashion out solutions.

“Safety issues should be addressed regularly on an annual basis while modalities to address these are developed under the supervision of the new Ministry of Blue Economy,” he said.

He said in addition to adopting safety protocols, long term efforts should include developing an inclusive maritime domain that will accommodate boat building and operating sub-sector.

The plan should be to encourage mini-cargo shipping as an alternative transport system for road decongestion. “This will certainly create an enviable short sea shipping infrastructure that will say bye-bye to boat accident,” he said.

“This report was facilitated by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) under its Collaborative Media Engagement for Development, Inclusivity and Accountability (CMEDIA) project.”