Capsized boat that killed 12 operated from illegal jetty —LASWA

The Head of Operation of the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), Ibrahim Famuyiwa, said on Friday the boat that caused the death of 12 passengers along the Kirikiri waterfront a few weeks ago operated from an illegal jetty.

The incident occurred after wave of a ship sailing along the waterfront made the boat to capsize.

Famuyiwa stated this when he appeared as a prosecution witness in the trial of the boat captain, Happiness Elebiju, at the Lagos High Court, Ikeja.

Elebiju was arraigned by the state government on a 10-count charge of manslaughter.

However, during Friday’s proceedings, the Director of Public Prosecution, Olayinka Adeyemi, informed the court on the amendment of the charges.

He said the boat captain would be re-arraigned on 11- count charge of manslaughter.

READ ALSO: Lagos govt arraigns boat operator over death of 12 passengers

Elebiju, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Famuyiwa, who was led in evidence by the DPP, told the court that approved jetties across the state have safety measures where passengers would be ensured they wear safety jackets before boarding.

He said: “The boat that capsized operated from an illegal jetty. Approved jetty have safety measures across the state where passengers will ensure that they wear safety jacket before boarding to sail and coordinating the passenger capacity of every boat to avert an accident. The operator and captain of the capsized boat operated against the state-practice direction.”

He said LASWA could not ascertain the operator’s competence to run a boat since it was not registered with the agency.

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