The families of some of the victims of Saturday’s boat accident in Egbin, near Ijede, in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State have blamed the boat’s helmsman for the disaster.
The elder brother of a deceased victim, Olalekan, Hammed Ajayi, while blaming the helmsman for conveying more passengers than the boat’s capacity, urged the regulatory agencies to investigate the accident to ascertain the actual cause.
Ajayi said, “I was on my way to a social function when my wife called me that the family members had not heard from my brother. I called his wife, who confirmed to me through his son, Toheeb. I was able to call one of his boys, Fatai, at his place of work in Ajah.
“Fatai said no one filled the passenger manifest at the jetty where the boat took off from and how we got to know that he was involved in the accident was that the rescue workers removed the SIM card from his phone and contacted us after his remains had been recovered.
“I blame the helmsman for conveying them at that time of the day and for not giving them any life jacket before the journey.”
Another relative of one of the victims, Kehinde Shotayo, appealed to the government to provide adequate support to the bereaved families.
Meanwhile, the National Inland Waterways Authourity (NIWA) has officially reacted to the accident, it said the passengers did not have life jackets on when the accident occurred.
In the statement, NIWA said, “investigations by our Lagos Area Office revealed that 21 persons including men and women boarded an unmarked fibre boat W19 with 60HP engine. None of the passengers was wearing a life jacket.
“The boat is designed to take not more than 10 persons. The jetty at Badore is a substandard jetty that has previously been sealed by the Authority. It is owned and run by the Itom Community in Badore.
“The boat capsized midway across the Lagoon most likely as a result of high tidal waves which was not helped by the boat being overloaded by twice its capacity as well as the fact that it was sailing at night making search and rescue efforts more difficult.
“Following the incident, three persons survived, 10 bodies were recovered, while eight are still missing as at the time of this press release. Co-ordinated rescue efforts and investigations are still ongoing.
“Management of the National Inland Waterways Authority wishes to convey its deep condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the unfortunate incident, even as we pray that the Lord will give them the fortitude to bear the irreparable losses”, the agency concluded.
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