The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has attributed the 2024 boat mishap on the Anam River in Anambra State—which claimed the lives of Nollywood actor Junior Pope and four others—to human error rather than mechanical failure.
NIWA Managing Director, Bola Oyebamiji, made this known on Thursday during a multi-modal transportation stakeholders forum held in Abuja.
He revealed that Junior Pope and some of passengers had refused to wear life jackets that were offered to them prior to the tragic incident.
“It was not mechanical failure, not impediments in the water or weather challenges, but purely a flagrant disregard for rules and regulations guiding movement on the inland waterways,” Oyebamiji said.
Citing the incident, Oyebamiji said such actions by passengers undermine the agency’s efforts at ensuring optimum safety on waterways.
He also called on all water users to support NIWA in raising safety awareness across the country.
The event was also attended by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, the Director-General, Nigerian safety Investigation Bureau, the Director-General, Nigerian Meteorological Agency, the CEO Air Peace Limited, Allen Onyema, among others.
Junior Pope was among the persons who drowned while returning from a shoot for a movie called ‘Another Side of Life’ which was being produced by Adanma in April 2024.
The boat capsized around Cable Point at the waterside of River Niger in Asaba, Delta State.
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