Mother, 9-year-old daughter drown in Borno boat accident

Thirty-five-year-old Habiba Abubakar and her nine-year-old daughter, Adama, drowned after being involved in a boat accident in Hawul Local Government Area of Borno State, PUNCH Metro learnt on Tuesday.

Punch correspondent gathered from the state police command spokesperson, Nahum Daso, that the incident occurred on Saturday, October 26, 2025, at about 1:15 p.m. while they were returning home from the farm.

He said, “They were returning from the farm and attempted to cross a river near Ghung village. But due to the strong currents, their boat capsized in the deeper part of the river.“

According to him, police operatives and local divers later recovered their bodies from the river.

“There were no marks of violence on the bodies. Photographs were taken for record purposes before they were evacuated to the General Hospital, Garkida, in Gombi Local Government Area of Adamawa State, because that was the health facility close to them,” Daso added.

A security expert, Zagazola Makama, had posted on X on Tuesday that a medical doctor at the hospital confirmed the victims dead on arrival.

Their remains were released to family members for burial according to Islamic rites.

“Meanwhile, the State Criminal Investigation Department in Maiduguri has commenced an investigation into the incident,” he added.

PUNCH Metro reported in September that the lifeless body of a male hawker, suspected to be about 12 years old, was recovered from the Gamboru River in the Customs area of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

The incident comes amid cases of boat accidents recorded in the North-East part of the country recently.