A tragic boat accident in Zamfara State has claimed the lives of at least 14 people, mostly women and children, as they attempted to flee a bandit invasion.
The incident occurred in the Nasarawa Kifi area of Gummi Local Government Area when residents from surrounding villages boarded an overloaded boat in a desperate bid to reach safer ground.
Eyewitnesses said the boat, burdened beyond capacity, capsized mid-journey. Among the victims were nine children and five married women. Several others remain missing, prompting an ongoing search and rescue operation by local authorities and volunteers.
The accident has plunged the community into mourning, compounding the trauma of repeated bandit attacks that have forced many from their homes.
“This is another painful reminder of how insecurity is destroying lives in our state,” one community leader lamented.
The tragedy underscores the urgent need for both immediate humanitarian support and long-term solutions to the insecurity plaguing Zamfara and other parts of northern Nigeria. Families of the missing continue to wait anxiously for news of their loved ones.
