A boat carrying mourners and dozens of motorcycles capsized at the Buruku river crossing in Benue State on Saturday, October 3, 2026, leaving several passengers dead and others missing despite safety measures introduced following an earlier fatal accident at the same crossing.
The accident occurred as passengers were reportedly returning from a burial ceremony in Logo Local Government Area, travelling towards Gboko. The wooden vessel was carrying a large number of passengers and motorcycles when it developed mechanical problems and overturned in the River Katsina-Ala.
The exact number of casualties remains unclear, with conflicting figures emerging from emergency officials and media reports.
The Benue State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) initially reported four deaths, more than nine missing passengers and 125 people rescued. However, a subsequent emergency assessment identified 107 passengers aboard, three deaths and eight people still missing. Premium Times separately reported six fatalities.
The differing accounts have left uncertainty over the final death toll, the number of passengers on board and how many people remained unaccounted for.
Buruku Local Government Chairman Raymond Zege initially confirmed that more than 60 passengers had been rescued, saying the boat developed an engine fault while crossing the river.
According to Zege, passengers struggled to control the vessel after the engine failure, while other boat operators attempted to assist. Strong water currents and the weight of passengers complicated rescue efforts.
The Commissioner for Marine and Blue Economy, Denis Iyaghigba, offered another preliminary account, saying powerful river currents reportedly pushed the vessel into an abandoned barge, causing it to overturn.
Although the accounts differ on the precise sequence, they point to mechanical trouble, difficult river conditions and concerns over the vessel’s load. A final technical investigation establishing the exact cause has not been publicly confirmed.
Reports also differed on the timing of the accident. While an early account placed the incident around midnight on Friday, several subsequent reports indicated that the vessel capsized at approximately 11 a.m. on Saturday, October 3.
Following the accident, local boat operators, divers, maritime union members and emergency personnel were mobilised to search for survivors and recover bodies.
A field assessment by Benue-SEMA reported that the vessel had been carrying 38 Bajaj motorcycles, of which 10 had been recovered while 28 remained submerged. The same assessment initially identified 11 missing passengers, with three bodies recovered and eight people still unaccounted for.
The figures contrasted with a separate SEMA account reporting 125 rescued passengers, underscoring the difficulties authorities faced in establishing an accurate passenger manifest.
Among the reported victims was a clergyman identified by Punch as Rev. Fr. Moses Tsuagh, although another report referred to a deceased cleric as Rev. Moses Tswakpe. The discrepancy in the names has not been conclusively resolved.
Leadership also reported that a father appealed for the recovery of his two sons, believed to be among those missing, so they could receive a proper burial.
One survivor, identified in SEMA’s field assessment as Rev. Pastor Atetan Gideon of NKST Baja, was interviewed by the emergency response team. His detailed account of the accident was not publicly established in the available report.
The incident has drawn attention to the dangers faced by residents who rely on river transportation to travel between communities for farming, trading, religious activities and other essential journeys.
Zege urged boat operators and passengers to comply with maritime safety regulations, particularly the compulsory use of life jackets. He said life jackets had been provided at the crossing but some passengers resisted wearing them, making enforcement difficult.
Iyaghigba said the state government had mobilised rescue teams and directed boat operators and their union downstream to assist in locating missing passengers. He appealed to families to remain calm while authorities worked to establish verified information.
Benue-SEMA Executive Secretary James Aondoakaa Iorpuu also called for stricter enforcement of life-jacket requirements and sanctions against operators who violated safety regulations.
The accident occurred less than nine months after another boat disaster at the Buruku crossing on January 18, 2026, which reportedly killed six people, most of them students.
Following that tragedy, the Benue State House of Assembly called for urgent regulation of waterways, including compulsory life jackets, restrictions on passenger loads, vessel inspections, registration of boats, operator training and improved emergency rescue arrangements.
The state government subsequently introduced additional measures, reportedly restricting the transportation of vehicles on boats and limiting operators to one vehicle per crossing.
The presence of dozens of motorcycles aboard the vessel involved in the October accident has therefore raised questions about whether the earlier safety measures were being effectively enforced.
However, no completed investigation has publicly established whether the operator violated a specific regulation, whether the vessel had passed inspection or how many passengers were wearing life jackets.
The identity of the boat operator and its registered owner have also not been independently confirmed.
Following the latest disaster, authorities renewed calls for stricter compliance with safety regulations, while rescue teams continued efforts to locate missing passengers and recover submerged property.
As of October 9, the publicly reported casualty figures had
