Kano – Eight people drowned in central Nigeria when their canoe capsized while they were fleeing raids by criminal gangs, an emergency services official said on Thursday.
The passengers were fleeing the villages of Guni and Kurgbaku in Munya district on Wednesday when their overloaded boat sank in the Guni-Zumba river, Ibrahim Ahmad Inga, head of Niger state emergency management agency, told AFP.
“The canoe, which was old, sank due to overload, drowning eight passengers, including two women and six children,” he said.
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A search is continuing for five other passengers, he said.
Boat accidents are common on Nigerian waterways, mostly due to overcrowding and lack of maintenance, particularly during the rainy season.
Northwest and central Nigeria are a hub of heavily armed criminal gangs who raid villages, killing and abducting residents after looting and burning homes.
The gangs, who are called bandits, were officially declared terrorists in January.
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They have recently intensified their attacks despite a military crackdown.
On Monday, bandits attacked a train in neighbouring Kaduna state, killing eight passengers and injuring 26 others.
The incident happened two days after Kaduna airport was attacked, leaving a security operative dead and briefly disrupting flights.
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Source: AFP
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