The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), the agency of government responsible for unravelling causes of accidents or incidents regarding all the modes of transportation in the country has commenced investigations into the unfortunate boat mishap that killed over 100 people in Kwara State on Wednesday.
Addressing a press conference on the accident, the Director General of NSIB, Mr Akin Olateru announced that the ill-fated boat carried not less than 250 passengers when the tragedy occurred at Kpada community in Pategi local government area of the state.
Olateru who equally said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has since directed the bureau to commence immediate investigation into the accident, declared that the report so far accident indicated 106 fatalities with a total of 144 survivors rescued.
“In line with enabling law of the federal republic of Nigeria, the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) ACT 2022 and the directive of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, NSIB has commenced investigation into the boat mishap that occurred at Kpada community in Pategi Local Government Area of Kwara State, on Monday night 12 June 2023.
From reports gathered thus far, the boat was said to have conveyed not less than 250 passengers from a village called Egboti in Niger State. Information received also reveal that 106 fatalities have been recorded and the total of 144 passengers have been rescued so far.
“In order to carry out this mandate, the Bureau would be carrying out a lot of fact findings through crew and passenger interviews, working with relevant authorities to be able to determine the probable cause(s) of this accident.”
“I will also like to use this medium to reach out to other local, state, federal agencies and other relevant stakeholders to maintain effective cooperation and collaboration so as to ensure transportation safety.”
“We are committed to swift response to accident and serious incident occurrences through our well-equipped Command and Control Centre. Accident reporting has also been simplified through our Mobile Application, which was introduced to interface with the public and make it easy for them to communicate with NSIB digitally.”
“The Bureau therefore used the opportunity to solicit information from the public in form of pictures, video or recording evidences to help assist in conducting a comprehensive investigation it can be reached through NSIB on its social media platforms. The Bureau can also be reached on its emergency line +234-807-709-0909.”
The NSIB is an autonomous multimodal investigation agency charged with the mandate to investigate air, rail, marine and other modes of transportation accidents and serious incidents in Nigeria with the aim of identifying the probable causes and proffer safety recommendations that can prevent reoccurrence.
The purpose of accident investigation, however, is not to apportion blame or liability but to prevent future recurrence of similar incidents.
The boat which was said to be carrying residents returning from a wedding capsized in the state killing about 100 people.