Several Sokoto Residents Fleeing From Bandit Attacks Drown In Boat Mishap
By Passman Akpos
The incident occurred on the evening of Thursday, September 18, shortly after the Maghrib prayer when a wooden boat carrying fleeing villagers struck the edge of a collapsed culvert along the Goronyo-Sabon Birni road.
Several residents of Zalla Bango, a remote community in Sabon Birni Local Government Area of Sokoto State have reportedly lost their lives in a boat mishap that occurred while they were fleeing from renewed bandit attacks in the community.
The incident occurred on the evening of Thursday, September 18, shortly after the Maghrib prayer when a wooden boat carrying fleeing villagers struck the edge of a collapsed culvert along the Goronyo–Sabon Birni road.
Eyewitnesses said the impact caused the vessel to crack and sink.
Most of the victims were reportedly women who had boarded the boat in a desperate bid to cross the river and escape an anticipated assault by bandits.
“Many residents have resorted to fleeing their communities, crossing over the water to areas perceived as safer and less accessible to the bandits,” a local source said, according to Daily Trust.
Another resident said, “This is not the first time we are witnessing such a tragedy in this area this year. Similar accidents have been recorded in recent months due to increasing insecurity.”
The chairman of the Sabon Birni Local Government, Alhaji Ayuba Hashimu, confirmed the boat mishap but said the actual number of casualties was still being verified.
“As of this morning, only one body, that of a woman, has been recovered from the water,” Hashimu said.
He explained that the accident occurred as residents frantically tried to cross the river to avoid another round of attacks.
“The boat hit the edge of a collapsed culvert, which led to its breaking and eventual sinking. We are doing everything we can to rescue survivors and retrieve the bodies of the deceased,” Hashimu added.
He also said that motorised boats and life jackets recently procured by the Sokoto State Government had been distributed to some flood-prone local councils, including Sabon Birni, just a day before the incident.
Thursday’s tragedy is the latest in a series of fatal accidents linked to insecurity in the area.
Last month, six people drowned in Garin Faji, another community in Sabon Birni, after a boat capsized while villagers were fleeing a terrorist attack.
In a separate incident just last week, bandits attacked Kwanar Kimba village in the same local government area, leaving six people dead.
The member representing Sabon Birni constituency in the Sokoto State House of Assembly, Sa’idu Ibrahim, reportedly confirmed the attack.
“Residents of the village tried to resist the attack, which led to a confrontation with the armed men.
“Unfortunately, six people were killed before the attackers fled. I just returned from the village, where I went to sympathise with the grieving families,” Ibrahim was quoted as saying.
Sabon Birni and its neighbouring communities in Sokoto East have faced recurring assaults by armed groups, forcing residents to either abandon their homes or risk dangerous crossings in search of safety.
Although rescue efforts are ongoing, the incident underscored the deadly consequences of the security crisis in the region.
