At least 13 people have died and more than 20 remain missing after a boat carrying fleeing villagers capsized in a river in Zamfara State, northwestern Nigeria, officials and residents reported on Saturday.
Reuters reported that the incident occurred after armed men attacked communities in Birnin Magaji ward on Friday, forcing residents to seek safety by crossing a nearby river. According to locals, the boat was heavily overcrowded.
‘My eldest son and two nieces were among the 13 people who died’, a health worker in Birnin Magaji, Shehu Mohammed told Reuters.
‘People were panicking and rushed onto the boat. It simply couldn’t hold everyone’, Mohammed added.
The district head of Birnin Magaji, Maidamma Dankilo confirmed the toll, saying, ’13 people have been confirmed dead, 22 were rescued, and 22 others are still missing’.
Zamfara has become a hotspot for attacks by armed groups, often referred to locally as bandits, amid a surge in violence across the region in recent months.
Gunmen killed at least two people and abducted over 100 in a separate attack last weekend, about 150 km west of Birnin Magaji.
A recent report by Lagos-based research firm SBM Intelligence indicated that Zamfara recorded 50 mass abductions between July 2024 and June 2025, affecting more than 1,000 people.
‘The scale of these attacks is devastating for our communities’, said Dankilo. ‘People live in constant fear, and even trying to escape can be deadly’.
Authorities are yet to provide an official update on ongoing search efforts for those still missing.
