At least 13 people have died, and more than 20 others remain unaccounted for after a boat carrying villagers fleeing a bandit attack capsized in Zamfara State, north-west Nigeria.
The incident, which occurred on Friday in Birnin Magaji ward, followed an assault by armed men on several rural communities, prompting panicked residents to rush towards the riverbank in search of escape. Many boarded an overcrowded vessel, which sank shortly after departure.
“My eldest son and two nieces were among the 13 people who died. People were panicking and rushed onto the boat. It simply couldn’t hold everyone,” said Shehu Mohammed, a local health worker.
The district head of Birnin Magaji, Maidamma Dankilo, confirmed that 13 bodies had been recovered while 22 survivors were rescued. A further 22 passengers remain missing.
Zamfara has become one of the epicentres of Nigeria’s escalating wave of rural violence, with armed groups staging relentless raids, killings, and kidnappings. Just last weekend, gunmen abducted more than 100 people and killed at least two others in a separate attack about 150km away.
According to figures from SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based research firm, Zamfara has suffered at least 50 mass abductions between July 2024 and June 2025, affecting over 1,000 people.
Authorities have yet to provide an official update on the search and rescue operations for the missing passengers.
