BOAT CAPSIZES IN NIGERIA RIVER; DOZENS DEAD

A boat carrying farm workers capsized on a river in Sokoto state in northwest Nigeria on Thursday, resulting in multiple deaths. A Reuters news agency witness observed 50 bodies at a mosque in Gorau ahead of burial preparations. Rescue operations continued near Gorau in the Goronyo local government area, according to the National Emergency Management Agency. Authorities had not released an official death toll at the time of reporting.

A former councillor in Gorau told AFP that 46 bodies had already been buried, with five additional bodies recently recovered from the river. The boat may have been transporting workers heading to farms in Gorau town. Residents stated that the capsizing affected multiple households in the community, with many women and children using the waterway to reach farms during the rainy season. One resident, Samaila Garba, confirmed his 13-year-old granddaughter Jamila Usman was among those killed.

Dahir Kure, spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency in Sokoto state, told AFP that rescue work had begun at the scene. He stated that authorities were still gathering information and could not provide an immediate death toll. Another resident, Aminu Dan Hajiya, said he regularly used the same waterway for farm access and considered himself fortunate not to have been aboard the vessel.