5 Monarch children among boat mishap in Sokoto
The Village head of Gidan Magana, Malam Muhammadu Auwal, who lost five of his children in the mishap, told Daily Trust that 23 females and six males were among the deceased. He noted that, the victims were crossing the river to fetch firewood because of its scarcity in their community. "You know the kind of situation we are. There is a serious shortage of firewood which we use to make our meals. The children used to go to the nearby bush across the river to fetch fire wood for their parents while some of them sell it to get money.” He stated that the incident happened shortly after the boat took off. "The sailor lost its control shortly after take off because of heavy waves. And it capsized,” he said. He noted that the tragedy occurred when many of the elderly people in the village were resting at homes after the dawn prayer. "I was sleeping when some youth came to my house and informed me about the incident. I mobilized the people of my community, includin