At least six people have lost their lives, and three others remain missing after a boat capsized in Garin Faji, Sabon Birni LGA of Sokoto State, while villagers attempted to escape a bandit attack.
The incident occurred in the early hours of Thursday, August 21, marking the second tragedy of its kind in less than a week. Just six days earlier, four people drowned in a similar mishap in Goronyo LGA.
Eyewitnesses told Daily Trust that residents, who had been sleeping in bushes to avoid nighttime raids, rushed back home at dawn. But upon spotting armed men approaching, panic set in and dozens scrambled into an overloaded canoe, which overturned mid-river.
“People no longer sleep in their homes,” one resident explained. “That morning, as they were returning, the bandits appeared. Everyone rushed into the canoe, but it couldn’t carry them all. It capsized.”
Hon. Aminu Boza, a member of the Sokoto State House of Assembly representing Sabon Birni, confirmed the accident, lamenting that insecurity had forced entire communities to flee.
“Some villages are completely deserted. Men spend their nights in the bush, returning only at daybreak,” he said. Boza noted that although armoured personnel carriers have been deployed, the scale of the threat demands an even stronger security presence.
The Sokoto State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) said 19 people were rescued, while a joint search-and-rescue operation involving NEMA, NIWA, and the Red Cross continues for the missing.
A senior SEMA official said the agency was conducting a joint assessment with federal partners and would release a detailed report soon.
The tragedy adds to the humanitarian crisis in Sokoto, where repeated raids by armed groups have forced thousands to abandon their homes and live in perpetual fear.
