The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has expressed sadness over the lives lost in a boat accident last Friday.
The state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotosho, in a statement on Monday, said Sanwo-Olu had ordered a probe into the incident.
He also said the police were treating the incident as criminal, adding that the boat, “which is said to be unlicensed, obviously broke waterways rules of ‘no night travel’ and no overloading.”
“Besides, not all of the passengers wore life jackets and the boat did not take off from a government-approved jetty.
“The Lagos State Waterways Authority, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency and others are assisting investigators.
“Anybody who is found to have contributed in any way to this tragedy will surely face the law to ensure that we do not have any such incident in the future,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, the General Manager of LASWA, Mr Damilola Emmanuel, said the agency would impose stiffer sanctions on boat operators who fell short of the specified standards of commuting on the state’s waterways.