The National Inland Waterways Authority, NIWA, says the boat mishap which happened on Anam River in Anambra State in 2024, involving Nollywood actor Junior Pope and four others, was due to human error and not mechanical fault.
Managing Director of NIWA, Bola Oyebamiji, made the disclosure during a multi-modal transportation stakeholders forum in Abuja on Thursday.
According to him, some of the passengers on board before the fatality happened rejected life jackets offered to them.
“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.