By Lukman Olabiyi
Lagos State High Court, Eti-Osa has sentenced one Elebiju Happiness to life imprisonment for manslaughter and six months imprisonment for operating a boat without a license.
The convict, Elebiju was arraigned before Justice Josephine Oyefeso on 11count charge for captaining a boat that capsized and killed 13 persons while operating in an illegal jetty without license.
The convict committed this crime on July 29, 2020 after loading passengers from kirikiri heading to Badagry.
During the trial, the prosecution called five witnesses who testified against Elebiju.
In her judgement, Justice Oyefeso, held that the prosecution has successfully proven the charge against the defendant beyond a reasonable doubt and thereby convicted and sentenced him accordingly.
Meanwhile, the state government has ordered for the probe of another captain who was in charge of an ill-fated boat marked “R & N 2”, which capsized on Wednesday, in Ikorodu, leading to the death of two passengers while 15 others were rescued
The General Manager, Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), Oluwadamilola Emmanuel,who disclosed this, said the captain of the capsized boat is already in custody to explain how the incident occurred.
It was gathered that the capsized boat was enroute Ipakodo-Lagos Island when the incident happened at about 7.45am.
According to a source, the incident occurred shortly after the 22-passenger boat took off from Ipakodo Terminal.
The boat suddenly developed mechanical fault and submerged on the waterways barely 200 meters away from it’s take -off point.
On how the passengers were rescued, the general manager, Emmanuel disclosed that the water guards, as well as the search and rescue team of the LASWA, were mobilized immediately to the incident scene, leading to the rescue of 15 people.
“Two female unconscious passengers were rushed to the nearest hospital for treatment. They were, however, later confirmed dead at the hospital
“The boat captain is currently being investigated by the relevant authorities while full investigation into the cause of this mishap is ongoing, to get more details”, he said.
