More than a dozen people including women and children fleeing attacks by armed gangs have drowned in the central Nigerian state of Niger when their boat capsized.
Emergency officials say eight bodies, including those of two women and six children, have been recovered while five people are still missing.
A search and rescue operation is underway.
The victims from the village of Galkogo were fleeing a deadly attack by gunmen on their community on Tuesday.
Their boat then capsized on a major river. Some managed to escape but many drowned. Officials say the boat was weak and overloaded.
Armed gangs, locally known as bandits, have stepped up attacks in northern Nigeria displacing nearly a million people.
On Monday, they attacked a busy passenger train travelling from the capital, Abuja, to the northern city of Kaduna killing, nearly a dozen people and kidnapping others.
The government is facing severe criticism for failing to tackle the worsening violence despite deploying thousands of troops.
