Authorities in Nigeria have reported that the death toll of a boat capsizing incident in a river in Yobe state late last week has risen to 29 following the recovery of four additional bodies in the two days since the incident occurred.
Yobe State Emergency Management Agency Head Mohammed Goje confirmed the news regarding the additional recovered victims on Monday, January 5, as the search and recovery operation was still ongoing.
Goje said efforts are now focused on locating the ten missing victims.
Yobe Governor Mai Mala Buni has since authorised the release of funding for the burials of the 29 deceased victims, many of whom were farmers and traders. The 13 survivors will meanwhile receive food and other relief aid.
Mr Buni has also ordered the stricter implementation of existing boating laws, such as prohibiting passenger vessels from plying the state's waterways after 18:00 (local time).
The ill-fated boat was en route to Garbi in Yobe with 52 people on board when it suddenly overturned at around 20:00 on Saturday, January 3.
The incident has been attributed to overloading and poor visibility.
Nigeria has been cited for its poor performance with regards to ferry safety. As noted by Baird Maritime Co-Founder and ferry safety advocate Dr Neil Baird, the country ranks second only to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in terms of the number of fatalities from ferry incidents.
"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.
