A tragic boat accident in Zamfara State has claimed at least 14 lives, mostly women and children, as villagers attempted to escape violent bandit attacks in the region.
According to local reports, the boat was overloaded with displaced persons, many of them desperate to flee renewed raids by armed groups in nearby villages.
The incident occurred in Nasarawa Kifi, Gummi Local Government Area, late on Friday, throwing the community into mourning.
Witnesses said the vessel lost balance midway through the river and capsized, trapping several passengers in the water.
Rescue workers and local volunteers managed to recover 14 bodies, including nine children and five married women.
Several other passengers remain unaccounted for, raising fears that the death toll may rise as search efforts continue.
Survivors who managed to swim to safety described the scene as chaotic, with many crying for help as the boat went under.
Community leaders in Gummi expressed grief over the tragedy and criticized the government for failing to provide safe evacuation channels for civilians under constant threat from bandits.
“Our people are being killed on land by bandits and now they are dying in water trying to escape. We feel abandoned,” one elder lamented.
The Northwest, particularly Zamfara, has been a hotspot of banditry and mass displacement in recent years.
Thousands of residents have been forced to leave their homes due to frequent attacks involving killings, kidnappings, and cattle rustling.
Many villagers often resort to unsafe boats or trekking long distances through forests to reach relatively safer towns.
The Zamfara State Emergency Management Agency (ZEMA) confirmed the accident but noted that full casualty figures were still being compiled.
Officials said emergency response teams were still searching the river for more bodies.
Authorities also appealed to residents to avoid traveling in overcrowded boats, although locals insist they have little choice given the insecurity.
Humanitarian groups have warned that the crisis in Zamfara and neighboring states is worsening, with families facing a double threat of violence and displacement-related tragedies.
The latest accident underscores the dangers that vulnerable populations face daily as they seek safety.
As the community buries its dead, calls are growing for stronger government intervention to protect rural populations from bandit attacks and to provide safe transport and resettlement measures for displaced villagers.