Iran Press/ Africa: Nigeria's President Bola Tinuba says at least 40 people have drowned in a boat accident on a river in northwest Nigeria. The accident happened in Zamfara state, as farmers were trying to get to their land, said Tinubu in a statement on Sunday.
Yazid Abubakar, a police spokesperson in Zamfara, told The Associated Press the accident happened on Saturday and that five people were rescued, but 40 are still missing. It was not immediately clear how many people were on the boat when it went down.
The boat was carrying mostly farmers who use the crossing regularly to sell produce at the markets and locals say they’re often overloaded.