Lagos state government yesterday confi rmed the death of nine persons in the boat mishap which occurred at the weekend in Ilashe area of the state. In a statement issued by the Managing Director of Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), Abisola Kamson, the state government attributed the mishap to “overloading of passengers on a Banana Boat and operation of illegal jetty”. Kamson said four victims of the mishap rescued were already receiving treatment at a nearby hospital, while search and rescue operation was on-going.
While commiserating with the families of those that lost their loved ones, the state government said the mishap had again brought to the fore the need for the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), to respect the recent verdict of the Court of Appeal which upheld the powers of the state government to control its intra-inland waterways. Kamson said: “An unfortunate incident occurred at Ilashe today, Sunday August 20th arising from overloading of passengers on a Banana boat taking-off from an illegal Jetty, which has become a perennial issue of the Lagos state government to rid our waterfront areas of illegal operators. “We sympathise with the families of the deceased as nine lives were lost in the mishap and four people receiving treatment in the hospital. “Th e LASWA rescue team has been on ground and search is still on-going. Th is brings to fore again the need for NIWA to allow the judgement of the Appeal Court granting Lagos Control of her waterways to take eff ect without hindrance”. Besides, the LASWA boss urged boat operators and other stakeholders in the inland waterways sector to adhere strictly to safety standards at all times
