Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has ordered a probe into the boat accident that occurred on July 8 in Lagos.
The state commissioner for information, Gbenga Omotosho, in a statement on Monday said the police are “probing what went wrong and treating the sad incident as criminal.”
The boat accident occurred along Mile 2-Ibeshe. As of Sunday, 17 bodies were recovered.
Mr Omotosho said the “unlicensed” boat operated beyond the official hours, thereby breaking the ‘no night travel’ and ‘no overloading’ rules of the waterways.
“Besides, not all of the passengers wore life jackets and the boat did not take off from a government-approved jetty,” he said.
“The Lagos State Waterways Authority (@TalktoLaswa), Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) and others are assisting the investigators.
Anybody who is found to have contributed in any way to this tragedy will surely face the law to ensure that we do not have any such incidents in future.
“The waterways rules and regulations are clear; they must be respected by the greatest value that the Sanwo-Olu administration places on human life.”
The commissioner expressed condolence to the family of the victims.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved families. May The Almighty strengthen them in this difficult time,” he said.
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