More than 50 dead and dozens missing after Nigeria boat sinks

At least 54 bodies have now been recovered from Nigeria’s River Niger after a boat, that may have been carrying more than 200 passengers, capsized in the early hours of Friday, the authorities say.

Twenty-four of those on board were rescued, some of whom are still in hospital, but dozens of others may be missing.

Divers are still searching the waters but hope is fading on the possibility of finding more survivors.

This is just the latest in a long series of boat accidents on the country’s inland waterways. Despite safety recommendations being made, rules are rarely followed and few are held accountable.

The boat was travelling from Kogi state, central Nigeria, to a weekly market in neighbouring Niger state when it went down.

Market traders and farm labourers were thought to have been among the passengers.

The cause of the accident is not yet known but there are indications that many of the travellers may not have been wearing life jackets as required.

Getting accurate details about who exactly had boarded the boat is difficult because there was no record keeping, the local official in charge told the BBC.

“The problem is that there’s no passenger manifest and because of the time the accident occurred, giving an accurate account of persons, survivors and those missing, is very difficult,” Justin Uche, who is head of the Kogi state office of the National Emergency Management Agency said.

Meanwhile Kogi state’s governor Usman Ododo ordered all hospitals where survivors are receiving treatment to ensure that they get adequate care including food.

He also urged stricter enforcement of safety regulations to ensure that such incidents are avoided in future.

This is the third time a passenger boat has gone down in Nigeria in the last 60 days.

Last month, a wooden dugout canoe, packed with nearly 300 passengers, overturned and sank in the middle of the River Niger killing nearly 200 people.

Just last week, five people died when two boats collided in southern Nigeria’s Delta state.

By Chris Ewokor, BBC

Related story: Video - Nigerian government to phase out wooden boats to reduce waterway deaths

EFCC seizes hundreds of homes in huge anti-graft case in Nigeria

Nigeria's anti-graft agency has said it has made its biggest ever seizure of assets, alleged to have been purchased with the proceeds of corruption.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) announced that it has taken possession of a large housing estate comprising of more than 750 properties in the capital, Abuja.

The agency did not reveal exactly who had owned the land and luxurious homes but its statement said they belonged to a former high-ranking member of government.

The EFCC was set up in 2003 to fight corruption in a country where it is seen as endemic, existing through all government structures.

“The forfeiture of the property... was [in line with the] EFCC’s mandate and policy directive of ensuring that the corrupt and fraudulent do not enjoy the proceeds of their unlawful activities,” the agency said.

Situated on the outskirts of Abuja, passers by have for years wondered who owned the estate covering some 150,000 square metres.

A property expert based in Abuja estimated that the seized assets would be worth tens of millions of dollars on the market.

Corruption remains one of the biggest problems in Nigeria despite succesive governments promising to stop it.

The country is one of the Africa's largest oil producers, but few of its more than 225 million inhabitants have benefited from this wealth.

At the moment there are several graft cases in court involving past or present government officials.

In May this year, a former minister of aviation, Hadi Sirika, appeared in court on corruption charges, along with his daughter and son-in-law.

Sirika was regarded as one of the most powerful ministers in former President Muhammadu Buhari's government.

The EFCC accused him of using his position to give undue advantage to a company linked to his daughter and son-in-law.

The three pleaded not guilty and were released on bail.

By Mansur Abubakar, BBC

Nigeria begins malaria vaccine rollout

Nigeria, the country with the most malaria deaths worldwide, began rolling out a vaccine against the disease for the first time.

The vaccine — which is being administered to children up to five years old, the worst affected population — has an effectiveness rate of 75%, meaning other prevention tools are still necessary.

“We are confident that this vaccine, in combination with other preventative measures, will drastically reduce the burden of malaria in Nigeria,” the World Health Organization’s Nigeria representative earlier said.

Africa accounts for almost the entirety of global malaria deaths, with Nigeria, the continent’s most prosperous nation, representing nearly a third of those in 2022.
Billions of dollars lost every year to malaria

Besides the human toll, estimates suggest Africa loses billions of dollars a year in productivity and health expenses linked to malaria. In turn, a 90% reduction in case incidence by 2030 — part of the Sustainable Development Goal target on malaria — could boost the GDP of malaria-endemic countries by $142.7 billion, according to research conducted by Oxford Economics Africa on behalf of Malaria No More UK. The corresponding increase in international trade would also significantly benefit the global economy, the report added.

Human movement is one of the biggest challenges to eliminating malaria, two scientists noted in The Conversation. Vulnerable populations are also more likely to travel significant distances, and high rates of mobility are associated with greater onward transmission, they wrote. In the US, a combination of public health measures and infrastructure improvements helped to eliminate malaria in the mid-twentieth century. But malaria hospitalizations have increased in recent years as people travel into the country from malaria-endemic areas, according to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

By Mizy Clifton and Jeronimo Gonzalez, Semafor

Regional analysts suggest caution as Nigeria signs new deals with France

Political analysts in Nigeria say the country needs to be careful after signing a series of agreements with France during President Bola Tinubu’s three-day visit to the European country last week.

Tinubu’s three-day visit to France was the first official state visit to Paris by a Nigerian leader in more than two decades.

During the visit, Nigeria and France signed two major deals, including a $300 million pact to develop critical infrastructure, renewable energy, transportation, agriculture and health care in Nigeria.

Both nations also signed an agreement to increase food security and develop Nigeria's solid minerals sector.

Tinubu has been trying to attract investments to boost Nigeria's ailing economy. While many praise his latest deals with France, some critics are urging caution.

The deals come as France looks for friends in West Africa following a series of military coups in countries where it formerly had strong ties — Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.

Ahmed Buhari, a political affairs analyst, criticized the partnership.

"Everybody is trying to look for a new development partner that would seemingly be working in their own interest, but obviously we don't seem to be on the same page,” Buhari said. “We're partnering with France, who [has] been responsible for countries like Chad, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso and the likes, and we haven't seen significant developments in those places in the last 100 years."

Abuja-based political analyst Chris Kwaja said France's strained relationships with the Sahelian states do not affect Nigeria.

"That the countries of the Sahel have a fractured relationship with France does not in any way define the future of the Nigeria-France relationship,” Kwaja said. “No country wants to operate as an island. Every country is looking at strategic partnerships and relationships.”

France has a long history of involvement in the Sahel region, including military intervention, economic cooperation and development aid. Critics say the countries associated with France have been grappling with poverty and insecurity.

Eze Onyekpere, economist and founder of the Center for Social Justice, said Nigeria must be wary of any deal before signing.

"It is a little bit disappointing considering the reputation of France in the way they've been exploiting minerals across the Sahel,’ Onyekpere said. “They've been undertaking exploitation in a way and manner that's not in the best interest of those countries. I hope we have good enough checks to make sure that the agreements signed will generally be in the interest of both countries and not a one-sided agreement."

Nigeria is France’s top trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa.

During the president's visit, two Nigerian banks — Zenith and United Bank for Africa — also signed agreements to expand their operations into France.

By Timothy Obiezu, VOA

Video - Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala secures second term at WTO

The former Nigerian finance minister ran unopposed, and the WTO's 166 members agreed by consensus to the proposal to reappoint her. Okonjo-Iweala called on members to adopt a creative approach to deal with the issues that will face the world trading system. Her next term is set to commence on September 1, 2025.

CGTN