Lagos Area Manager, National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Sarat Braimoh, yesterday, said investigations on the recent boat accident that claimed the lives of 17 people, discovered that the boat was loaded at a containerized jetty that was close in June 2021.
Braimoh said the jetty was presumed to be loading containers but was shut down because it was not certified for container operations.
She said the NIWA and the joint committee on barge operations made up of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) shut down and assigned police officers there to avoid operations.
“We have been controlling them and they are not operating. When I heard about the occurrence, I called the owner of the jetty to ask about the boat loaded from his jetty and he said he was not informed. Those people went there illegally.
“A personnel member of the jetty owner, who is an eyewitness, challenged them when they were loading. They insisted they were waiting for a boat to take them to the recently concluded festivity.
“He said the boat could not take more than 10 passengers and there were 17 people on the boat, including the captain. The boat went under the barge and the weather also added to it. The weather was bad and boat operators and passengers should not ply at night because of the wave. Our jetties open by 6:00 a.m. and close by 7:00 p.m.,” she clarified.
