Fourteen persons, including 11
women from the same family, in Dan Gunu village, have perished in a boat
mishap in River Sarkin Pawa, Niger State.
Another boat, involving three
persons, also suffered the same fate in River Guni, both in Munya Local
Government Area of the state.
An eyewitness told Vanguard that the villagers were returning from farm, Monday evening, when the incident occurred.
The women and two men, it was
gathered, had gone to the farm to harvest groundnut. The incident
occurred on their return journey. The only survivors were the two men.
As villagers at Dan-Gunu village
mourned the death of their beloved ones, reports of the River Guni
incident, which claimed three lives, filtered in.
Some of the dead were identified as Munau, Wara, Fiddausi, Zainab, Najaatu, Ikilima, Fatima, Ladidi, Balaraba and Hafsat.
The senator representing Niger
East, Senator David Umaru, in a condolence message to the people of the
two communities, described the incidents as shocking and unfortunate.
He added that the disaster had
brought to the fore the sufferings of the people of the area as a result
of the activities of Shiroro Hydro Dam.
He lamented the lack of roads and
bridges in the area, adding that “this has shown the urgent need and
necessity for the immediate take off of the HAPPADEC Commission, which
will, in no small measure, alleviate the suffering of people of the
area.”
He explained that the lives of the people in the area had been made more difficult with the disastrous perennial flooding.
He noted that since the construction of the dam, nothing had been done to make the life of the people comfortable.
He called on the relevant
authorities to ensure immediate implementation of the HAPPADEC Act,
which had been passed by the National Assembly.
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