Rights group calls for panel of enquiry into death of 81 persons in boat mishap

A rights group, International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law (Intersociety) has called for the institution of a panel of enquiry into the circumstances leading to the death of 81 victims of boat mishap.

76 persons out of 85 traveling in a boat in Ogbaru Local Government Area had reportedly died, when their boat capsized. Another flying boat also crashed as a result of engine failure, killing the five passengers aboard, making 81 deaths.

In a press statement signed by the chairman, board of trustees of the group, Mr Emeka Umeagbalasi, he said the incident was beyond issuance of press releases by government to condemn the incident.

The group said: “The tragic mass deaths are beyond a mere “statement of expression of sadness or shock and extension of condolences to the bereaved families” by Prof Charles Chukwuma Soludo led Government of Anambra State.

“Losing 81 defenseless and law abiding citizens of Anambra origin and residency in a day in such preventable or avoidable boat mishap is enough to fly flag at half mast or declare a state of mourning and public holiday if the authorities of the Government of Anambra State are truly sensitive to the safety of the citizenry and conscious of the sanctity of human lives.

“The mass deaths also ought to invoke the setting up of the Government ‘Expert Enquiry’ to ascertain “what truly happened, how it happened, why it happened, where it happened, when it happened and who died and who survived”.

“It is not enough for the present Government of Anambra State to ‘issue sympathy message’ or ‘offer bread and butter and blankets and mats’ to flood victims and go home and rest.

“The 81 deaths recorded in the two boat mishaps would have been prevented if the failed portions of the Atani-Ogwuikpele and the Ozubulu-Atani Roads had been timely rehabilitated and proper water channels provided and drainages, gutters and other waterways unblocked.

“It was the inability of the Government to ensure the above that made it possible for River Niger to bust into the left side of the residential areas of the Ogbaru interior and urban-thereby blocking and cutting off vehicular movements along the Atani-Ogwuikpele Road, forcing most of the passengers to use boats as the only alternative means to their destinations.”

The group called for the rehabilitation of the roads linking the areas, saying that doing so can avert such occurrences in the future as the people can use roads, instead of water, especially during this period of flood, when water travels are dangerous.