The Nigerian Government, through the North East Development Commission (NEDC), and in collaboration with the Yobe State Government, has donated new rescue boats and other equipment to the riverine community of Ngarbi in Yobe's Nguru Local Government Area.
The two speedboats fitted with davits and 10 inflatable boats with paddles were donated to Ngarbi less than two months after a passenger vessel capsizing incident in the area left at least 25 people dead.
The unnamed canoe was carrying 52 people when it overturned at around 20:00 local time on January 3.
The NEDC also provided around 100 lifejackets, pumps, and toolkits to the riverine community. These and the 12 rescue boats were part of an aid package.
Professor Ali Ibrahim Abbas, NEDC Yobe State Coordinator, said that the donated items were intended to prevent tragedies such as last January's deadly capsizing from happening.
Nigeria has repeatedly come under scrutiny for its poor passenger vessel safety record.
Earlier this year, ferry safety advocate and Baird Maritime Co-Founder Dr Neil Baird wrote that seven passenger vessel incidents in Nigeria in 2025 resulted in 292 deaths, while in 2024, 423 fatalities were recorded from 13 incidents in the country's waters. These figures make Nigeria the country with the second-worst passenger vessel safety record after the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
"The main factor that seems to be saving Nigerians from fates as bad as their Congolese brethren is that they tend to travel on smaller ferries," Dr Baird wrote in 2025.
Baird Maritime tracks global passenger vessel accidents in its comprehensive database, which can be accessed here.