The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has revealed that the tragic boat accident which claimed the life of Nollywood actor Junior Pope and four others in 2024 was caused by human error, not mechanical failure.
NIWA’s Managing Director, Bola Oyebamiji, disclosed this on Thursday during a multi-modal transportation stakeholders’ forum held in Abuja.
Oyebamiji said investigations showed that the accident on Anam River in Anambra State was the result of passengers’ failure to comply with basic safety protocols.
“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,” he stated.
He noted that some passengers aboard the ill-fated boat had rejected life jackets that were offered to them before the journey.
The NIWA boss expressed concern that such attitudes hinder the agency’s efforts to improve safety compliance across Nigeria’s waterways. He called on all water users to support NIWA’s awareness campaigns on waterway safety.
Also in attendance at the forum were the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo; the Director-General of the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau; the Director-General of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency; and the CEO of Air Peace Limited, Allen Onyema.
Junior Pope and the other victims were returning from a movie shoot titled “Another Side of Life”, produced by Adanma Luke, when their boat capsized near Cable Point on the River Niger in Asaba, Delta State, in April 2024.
