Niger Delta

29 Survive Calabar Boat Mishap

Published

13 years ago

March 25, 2013

About 29 persons, including two who survived by clinging to a cooking gas cylinder, have been rescued after a boat capsized offshore Calabar, Cross River State, with an estimated 128 people onboard, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) official said last Thursday.

The boat had set off on Friday from Benin Republic, overloaded with passengers who had hoped to find work in Gabon, Head, Cross River State Emergency Management Agency (CRSEMA), Vincent Aquah, said, citing survivor accounts.

The vessel had stopped at the Oron port in Akwa Ibom State, to collect more passengers but two hours after returning to sea, the engine began taking on water.

The captain told passengers to pray, telling them, “we are in serious trouble”, according to Aquah’s account.

As the boat began to sink, passengers jumped into the water, with the captain and three others grabbing hold of the floating cylinder.

“But after some hours, the captain and another passenger, a woman, could no longer hold on, and fell into the water,” Aquah explained.

A 27-year old man from Togo, and a 14-year old girl from Benin, managed to continue clinging to the makeshift raft.

They said that as they drifted, they saw a flame coming from an offshore oil field operated by the Chinese firm, Addax Petroleum.

A foreign oil worker on the platform, who spotted them, dispatched a boat to rescue the two, said Aquah.

“We have 29 survivors so far from the boat accident,” he told newsmen in Calabar yesterday, adding that the total number of bodies recovered so far remained at nine.

There were previous indications that the boat had originated from Congo-Brazzaville, but Aquah insisted those accounts were inaccurate.

The vessel is believed to have capsized at Malabo, 40 nautical miles (60 kilometres) off the coast of Calabar, the Cross River State capital.

Aquah specified that two of the survivors had been brought to Calabar, while 27 others were in Oron, Akwa Ibom State.

The rescue operation began on Sunday, and “the search for the remaining passengers is still on,” Aquah said, adding that the wreckage of the ship had not yet been located.

Corroborating Aquah’s account, Coordinator, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Olayemi Abass, said “some 27 of the survivors were taken to Oron and two brought to Calabar. Those in Calabar are receiving treatment at Bakorm Medical Centre, Calabar.”

Abass indicated that the wooden passenger boat, which conveyed a total 128 passengers, including three Nigerians, and others from Togo, Benin, Ghana, and Niger, was on an illegal journey to Gabon, when the iunforunate incident occurred.

It would be recalled that in July, 2012, a ferry sank in choppy waters as it crossed from mainland Tanzania to the island of Zanzibar, leaving at least, 104 people drowned.

Zanzibar authorities charged three people with manslaughter over the sinking of the ship, the MV Skagit, including its owner and captain.

In September, 2010, more than 200 people perished when the MV Spice Islander, which the authorities admitted was overloaded, sank while sailing between two of the main islands in the Zanzibar archipelago.

Rescue workers saved 619 passengers in that terrifying incident.

Meanwhile, at least, 50 persons drowned and some 35 were reported missing after a boat accident on a river in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo in July, 2011.

Niger Delta

Stakeholders In Delta Seek Stronger GBV Action, Women’s Leadership

Published

16 hours ago

March 2, 2026

The Tide

Stakeholders in Delta State convened in Asaba for a leadership workshop organised by Otdel Health Heritage and Environmental Initiative (OHHEI), focusing on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and women’s participation in decision-making processes.

OHHEI Project Director, Mr. Peter Olayinka, represented by a consultant, Juliet Obiajulu, urged participants to contribute meaningfully toward advancing women’s leadership and combating GBV across communities in the state.

He said the workshop aimed to strengthen participants’ capacity to influence policies, challenge harmful cultural norms, and reinforce initiatives designed to prevent and respond to GBV.

Olayinka said women often faced bias even when they occupied leadership positions, and stressed that gender diversity improved the quality of decision-making and promoted innovation and accountability in governance structures.

Speaking, the Chairperson of the Association Against Child Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, Mr Eris Jewo-Ibi, identified cultural norms, domestic responsibilities, political resistance, and grassroots barriers as constraints to women’s participation.

Delta State GBV Desk Officer, Mrs. Rosemary Okpuno, emphasised that effective decision-making required women’s perspectives, adding that inclusion remained critical to addressing persistent gender-based challenges.

Voke Angbagh of the Delta State Ministry of Justice outlined penalties for rape and called for the establishment of special courts to handle sexual offences cases.

Angbagh said frequent adjournments delayed justice for survivors, stressing that dedicated sexual offences courts would ensure timely trials and stronger protection for victims in Delta State.

The Tide’s source reports that facilitators identified cultural acceptance of violence, unequal power relations, discrimination, poverty, limited education, and low self-esteem as major drivers of GBV.

They emphasised that violence and exclusion resulted in social, physical and emotional harm, imposed economic costs, reinforced harmful stereotypes, and widened existing gender inequalities.

The source also reports that OHHEI, a local non-profit organisation, focuses on education, health, environment, and social justice, promoting sustainable development initiatives with gender equality at the centre of its interventions.

Niger Delta

C’River Suspends Taskforce Activities Over Drivers’ Protest

Published

16 hours ago

March 2, 2026

The Tide

The Cross River State Government has suspended all taskforce activities connected to commercial transportation and ticketing across the state.

The State Governor, Bassey Otu, announced the suspension at an emergency stakeholders meeting on Friday in Calabar.

It would be recalled that commercial drivers in Calabar metropolis took to streets on Thursday to protest alleged multiple taxation and extortion by government agencies.

During the protest, the drivers alleged that taskforce groups claiming to represent the state government openly harassed and extorted them.

Represented at the meeting by Ekpenyong Akiba, his Special Adviser on General Duties, Otu said the suspension would subsist pending further review of the situation.

The Governor stated that the state government did not commission anyone to extort drivers in the name of task force.

He urged commercial drivers and other road users to remain law-abiding while government worked out a lasting solution.

On his part, the Chairman, Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria, Calabar Metropolis, Mr. Sunday Dennis, expressed optimism that the dialogue would yield positive results.

He said the meeting had provided an opportunity for the aggrieved commercial drivers to present their concerns directly to the state government.

Also speaking, the Chairman, Unified Drivers Association, Mr. Nta Henshaw, described the harassment on drivers as worrisome, and urged the state government to be decisive in resolving the matter.

Niger Delta

A’Ibom Assembly Urges More Private Investments In Agriculture

Published

16 hours ago

March 2, 2026

The Tide

The Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly Committee on Nutrition and Food Security has called for more private sector investments in agriculture.

The Chairman of the Committee, Mr. Moses Essien, made the call when the committee visited Aviclaire Farms, a private establishment in Usung Idem, Uruk Usoh in Abak Local Government Area.

Essien, who represents Ibiono Ibom in the Assembly, commended the Management of the farm for partnering an NGO, ECEWS, to promote private investment in agriculture.

He commended the partners for adopting climate-smart agriculture initiatives in their operations, adding that such move would promote food security.

“Your interest in using transformative intervention to promote food security is a veritable way of complementing the efforts of the state government,” he said.

The lawmaker continued that adopting practical climate-smart agriculture model would help to generate employment, improve nutrition outcomes, and strengthen food sufficiency.

He further said he was impressed with the strides recorded by the partners, saying, “your investment has created jobs for no fewer than 2,000 youths.

”You are an example of an environment-friendly investor. I urge Akwa Ibom residents to embrace environment-friendly and technology-driven agriculture models,” he said.

Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer, ECEWS, Dr. Andy Eyo, who conducted the committee round the farm, said the collaboration was conceived to demonstrate the viability of climate-smart farming in ensuring food sufficiency.

Eyo said the farm, which commenced operations with four greenhouses, had expanded to 14 within two years, and currently supplying high-quality produce to major markets in Uyo and neighbouring communities.

He said ECEWS was exploring cooperative frameworks to enable rural farmers and women’s groups to adopt greenhouse technology for sustainable livelihoods.

In her remarks, the Chief Executive Officer of Aviclaire Farms, Mrs. Victoria Eyo, said the controlled-environment ensured precision cultivation and consistent yields.

She further said the farm served as a capacity-building centre for students, interns, and agri-business trainees.