The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said that it has recovered a total of 17 bodies after a boat capsized in Lagos on Saturday. 

In a statement released on Sunday, Ibrahim Farinloye, Zonal Coordinator of NEMA in the South-West, said four of the bodies were recovered on the day of the incident. 

“Late yesterday night, two more bodies were recovered in addition to the two earlier recovered in the morning. With this, it has become a total of 17 bodies recovered,” the statement read in part. 

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“It was revealed that the regulatory bodies have tried to stamp out illegal operations of small boat operators who hardly use life jackets after official hours.

“But they do not heed to regulations put in place to stop them. It was also observed that wooden boats are not permitted to be used as a passenger boat. But it is only at this odd hour that illegal operators always put the lives of unsuspecting passengers at risk.”

Around 20 passengers were sailing from Mile 2 to Ibeshe when their boat sank. 

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Farinloye revealed that the rescue operation by NEMA had come to a close. He went on to accuse private boat operators of ignoring safety procedures and risking passengers’ lives in the process.

Damilola Emmanuel, General Manager, Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), claimed that the state government had done everything to make the waterways safe. He also said that LASWA would come down hard on any operator that endangers the lives of people commuting along the waterways.