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A man known as Muazu Babangida has lost his two wives and a son in a mishap that claimed the lives of no fewer than seven persons at Zhigiri village, Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State.
This is contained in a statement issued on Tuesday by Mr Silas Saba, the spokesperson of Coalition of Shiroro Associations (COSA) made available to journalists in Minna on Tuesday night.
Saba, who decried the current challenges caused by the establishment of the Zungeru hydro-electric power dam in the community, said that the incident occurred at 4 p.m. on Sunday.
He said that the incident occurred when the villagers were sailing to Dnaweto; a neighbouring village in the hinterland for a naming ceremony.
“Prior to the construction of Zungeru Dam, traveling between these two villages was by land and need not water transportation, as the terrain was majorly dry and motorable.
“This is one of the social upheaval occasioned by the construction of the dam,” he said.
He said that the villagers had yet to recover the body of one of the affected victim from the river.
Saba called on Hydro-electric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC) to respond to the incident by providing safety measures such as life jackets and standard boats, among others, to help the people to adapt to their new way of life of water transportation.
He said that providing these measures and sensitising the people to the use of the waterway would prevent and minimise future occurrence.
The public relations office of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency could not be reached at the time of filing this report.
Meanwhile, the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) has said the driver and a lady survived the boat mishap.
Alhaji Ahmed Inga, the Director-General of the agency made this known in Minna on Wednesday, saying that the bodies of the seven victims of the mishap had also been recovered.
He said the mishap occurred while the boat was sailing to Dnaweto, a neighbouring village in the hinterland, for a naming ceremony.
Inga said that the passengers of the boat were nine and they took off from Zhijigiri village to Dnaweto village.
He said that the boat sailed on the water from the ongoing construction of the Zungeru hydro electric power dam.
“The boat driver and a lady survived while seven person lost their lives to the unfortunate incident.
“The bodies of the deceased have been recovered and buried”, he said.