'I send my children to go farm go harvest rice, but dem die for water' - Mother of Sokoto boat accident victims

One woman for Gorau community for Goronyo local govment area of Sokoto state, northwest Nigeria, don tell BBC News Pidgin tori pesin how her two children folo kpai for di boat accident wey hapun for di community on Thursday, 20 August 2026, wia at least 55 pipo lose dia lives.

Di woman wey say her name na simply Maryam tok say her children bin go farm to harvest rice, and dat na di last time she see dem alive.

“Yesterday, na to go harvest rice we send dem. I hear about di accident when I dey house dey work. Den dem come tell us say our children folo for di accident.”

“Wen dem tell me about di accident, I dey very devastated. Di last time wey I see dem na when dem carry di farming tools go farm,” Maryam tok.

She describe her two children as good, obedient children wit good character.

Di Sokoto State Police Command tok-tok pesin Ahmad Rufai confam di incident to BBC News Pidgin, as e tok say preliminary investigation show say "77 pipo bin dey onboard bifor di accident occur, dem don recover 46 bodies, 16 pipo survive and 15 odas still dey miss."

Dat na on Thursday, di latest count dis Friday be say di numba of deaths don pass 55.

One eyewitness Sharhabilu Yahuza Kiliya wey follow BBC News Pidgin tok say most of di pipo wey lose dia lives na na small-small children, wey dem carry go farm to help wit di rice harvest.

"Di accident happun around 8am on Thursday, and di pipo wey die dey on dia way go dia farms to harvest rice. Some oda pipo wey dey inside di boat dey try cross to sell dia goods to farmers during di harvest," Kiliya tok.

Among di over 60 bodies wey dem recover, Kiliya say one woman wey carry baby for her back dey among dem, while dem also recover di bodi of one pregnant woman.

E add say some families dey worst hit: “E dey very painful, plus di pipo of Gorau town dey distressed bicos some families don lose more dan four children.”

Also, one lawmaker for di state Nasiru Adamu tell Reuters News say most of di pipo wey bin dey onboard dey between 10 and 15 years old.

So far, Kiliya say dem don rescue seven pipo wey include di community head. “By around 4pm on Thursday, we don rescue seven pipo and bury 46 bodies.”

As night dey come closer, dem gatz suspend di rescue operation until Friday, sake of di insecurity wey dey affect dat area.

Isiya Dan Bello Gorau na one of di pipo wey lose im children for dis boat accident. Two of im children kpai.

E tell BBC News Pidgin say: “Honestly, I dey shocked and I dey mourn my two children wey dis accident carry. Early yesterday morning, I send dem go farm and tell dem make dem carry di farming tools. I go join dem later bicos I dey one naming ceremony."

"As we dey finish, dem come tell us say boat don sink wit pipo inside,” Dan Bello tok.

“As e be now, dem don find di bodi of one of my children. Now we dey search for di body of di oda one. Di last time I see dem na afta I say make dem go farm say I go meet dem dia.”

Di Head of Gorau community also folo for di pipo wey survive, and e tok say di accident hapun afta water enter di front part of their boat.

“I send my children go farm, and I follow dem to monitor how di work dey go. We dey inside di boat dey travel when water enter di front of di boat. I tink say na dat make di boat sink wit us,” di head of di communjty tok.

E say e survive bicos of di experience and swimming skills wey e use.

“When di accident happun, I try to save mysef, but di pipo wey dey inside di accident boat wit me kontinu to push me down. I realise say I fit no survive, so I dive deeper into di water and remove my clothes.”

“Even me, na by chance I survive, bicos afta I swim and come out, e take more than 30 minutes before I know where I dey.”

E add say na only seven of dem survive di boat mishap.

According to am, pipo from di town later carry am go house. E add say, up till now, dem don recover more dan 60 bodies.

Abdullahi Dan Rani, anoda survivor of di boat accident, tell our tori pesi say e survive bicos “my time never reach”.

Rani narrate say dem bi hear one part of di boat make loud sound as dem dey reach di middle of di water, and suddenly di boat capsize.

“I sabi swim, but for inside di boat we be only three adults. We try our best to save some of di pipo, but we no fit do much bicos we no plenty. But we manage save some pipo,” Rani tok.

“Later, oda pipo from di town come and rescue us.”

Wen we ask am weda di accident hapun sake of overload, e say:

“I no tink say na too many pipo cause di accident, bicos bifor dem carry us, dem don already carry pipo and bikes wey pass our number. I no tink say di number of pipo inside di boat get anytin to do wit am.”

According to am, anoda tin wey surprise dem be say wen dem check di boat wey get di accident, dem no see any place wey burst or break.

Meanwhile, wen BBC contact di National Emergency Management Agency (Nema) for Sokoto state through dia tok-tok pesin for di state, Dahiru Kure, e say dem still dey gada information about how di incident happun and di numba of pipo wey lose dia lives.

However, di national tok-tok pesin for Nema, Ezekiel Manzo, tell BBC say di area wia di incident hapun na remote place wey dey difficult to reach, but di team don move go di remote location"

Authorities also neva fit tok why di boat capsize or di river wia e take happun.

Boat accidents dey common for Nigeria, as most of di boats dey often dey overcrowded, poor maintenance and weak enforcement of safety rules wey dem often dey blame for deaths on di kontri waterways.

For January, at least 25 pipo die as one boat wey dey leak capsize for Yobe ​state, northeast Nigeria.

And for December 2024, dem recover 54 bodies from di River Niger afta one boat wey carry more dan 200 passengers capsize.

Authorities don recommend measures wey include providing safer boats and life jackets, dredging waterways, deploying water guards at jetties and terminals, and to ensure say boat operators dey properly trained and licensed.

But operators no dey fully implement most these measures or enforce am.

For millions of Nigerians, particularly for rural communities, rivers na important means of transport. Many villages dey located near waterways, while poor roads plus lack of bridges make to travel by land difficult.

Dem dey often use wooden boats to transport pipo and goods go markets and neighbouring communities.