More than 40 missing after boat capsizes in Nigeria’s Sokoto

Rescuers are searching for more than 40 people who are missing after a boat capsized in Nigeria’s northwestern state of Sokoto, according to authorities.

Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said on Sunday that its Sokoto operations office had deployed a response team to support rescue efforts following the “tragic boat mishap”.

NEMA’s director general, Zubaida Umar, said the agency responded after “receiving reports that a boat conveying over 50 passengers to Goronyo Market had capsized”.

NEMA said in a statement shared on social media that about 10 people had been rescued, and more than 40 other passengers were missing.

Nigeria’s The Punch newspaper, citing a local official, said the accident may have been caused by overloading, a recurring issue for boats in the state’s riverine communities.

Boat accidents are common in Nigeria, particularly during the annual rainy season, from March to October, when rivers and lakes overflow.

At least 16 farmers died in a similar accident in Sokoto State in August 2024, when a wooden canoe carrying them across a river to their rice fields capsized.

Last month, at least 13 people died and dozens more went missing after a boat ferrying about 100 passengers capsized in Niger State, in north-central Nigeria.

Two days later, six girls drowned after a boat taking them home from farm work capsized midstream in the northwestern Jigawa State.