In a devastating incident on Monday, a boat with more than 50 passengers capsized in the Yauri Local Government Area of Kebbi State, the loss of at least 30 lives.

Bala Yauri, the Chairman of Yauri LGA, confirmed the heart-wrenching event to Voice of America via phone, expressing the profound grief that has befallen the local community. He revealed that local divers are working tirelessly to recover the bodies of those who tragically drowned in the river.

"From the information I gathered, more than fifty persons were involved in the accident while some of them escaped, but as of now that I am talking to you, over thirty of them are still trapped in the river," he stated. "We have mobilised the local divers to try and locate bodies of the victims for proper evacuation and possibly befitting burials following Islamic rights. The boat, as I heard, carried passengers who are mostly traders from either Niger State or Kebbi State alongside foodstuffs for sale before the unfortunate incident."

An eyewitness, Alhaji Sani Yauri, confirmed that the accident was caused by a sudden and powerful gust of wind, leading to the boat's driver losing control.

"I was there when the incident happened; it was as a result of heavy wind, which resulted in the boat's driver losing control, and it capsized immediately," he recounted.

Because of attempts to reach out to the spokesperson of the Nigerian Police Force in the state, DSP Nafiu Abubakar, no response was received, neither to calls nor text messages sent at the time of compiling this report.