The corpse of the Chief Imam of old Gbajiko, who is also a victim of the boat mishap and 9 others have been recovered.
Preliminary reports gathered also indicated that the accident was due to overloading and the risk associated with night journey,
The passengers were on their way for a Maulud from New Gbajiko in Kwara state to old Gbajiko in Niger state.
It was learnt that majority of the victims are young people.
A statement by the Director Media and Strategy, Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management Habibu Wushishi, reiterated the need for all residents of the riverine areas to desist from night boat travels, overloading, usage of rickety boats.
It also restated the importance of using life jackets to avert future occurrences as they further commiserate with the people of Gbajibo village, Mokwa Local Government Council and Niger State Government over this unfortunate and avoidable accident.
It could be recalled that this mishap is the second of its kind that occurred in the same village a few months ago
Search and rescue operations is still ongoing as at the time of this report.
