Mbah Reiterates Call for Enforcement of Anti-spill Lock Against Tanker Explosions

•Another tragedy averted in Niger

Laleye Dipo in Minna

Enugu State Governor, Dr. Peter Mbah, has reiterated his call for the enforcement of anti-spill lock on fuel tankers across the country, saying disasters arising from tanker-spill had become too frequent.

This was as another tragedy was averted on Monday in Niger State, when a tanker laden with 40,000 liters of fuel overturned and burst into flames.

Mbah, yesterday, restated this when he received the Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, Mrs. Zubaida Umar, and her team, who were in Enugu to flag-off the distribution of emergency intervention items to victims of Saturday’s tanker fire that caused the loss of several lives and also consumed several vehicles and goods at Ugwu Onyeama along the Enugu-Onitsha federal highway.

“As I stated when I visited the scene, we have disasters that we know that we obviously could not have envisaged or predicted; and when they happen, we trigger all the responses that we have set up.

“But this issue of tanker fire or explosion is becoming too recurrent and I did call on the law enforcement agencies, particularly the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, to ensure the enforcement of the anti-spill lock.

“This is because if we have anti-spill lock on those tankers carrying inflammable products like petrol and automotive gas oil, we will then be able to mitigate such disasters because even if the tanker falls, it will still not spill.

“But what happened in Enugu was a function of the spill of PMS (petrol) that got into other cars, and they got ignited.

“So, I will always want to use this opportunity again to reiterate my call on the law enforcement agencies to ensure strict enforcement of the anti-spill lock on all our petroleum product tankers. It is extremely important,” he stated.

Mrs. Umar, while commiserating with the government and people of Enugu State, commended Mbah for showing leadership in the midst of the disaster.

“I wish to commend you for the timely visit to the scene of the incident and various decisions made, including ensuring that maximum medical attention was given to the survivors.

“Today’s flag-off of relief assistance to the victims of tanker fire is therefore an outcome of the collaborative initiative, which NEMA has put in place to support the population at risk.

“It is the collective responsibility of all tiers of government to provide support to disaster victims; hence, NEMA is therefore complementing the efforts of the state government,” she said.

However, in Niger, the incident took place between Agaie and Lapai towns in Niger State.

It was learnt that both the driver of the vehicle and his conductor were rushed to the Lapai hospital for treatment as a result of injuries they sustained from the accident.

According to an eyewitness, the tanker had a front tyre burst, which made it impossible for the driver to control the vehicle and forcing it to overturn and burst into flames.

Public Relations Officer of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, NSEMA, Alhaji Ibrahim Hussaini, confirmed the incident, saying it happened in the bush.

“Our men are on their way to the point where the accident happened. I will get back to you when they return,” he said.

The Police in Minna also confirmed the incident in a statement by its Public Relations Officer, a Superintendent of Police, Wasiu Abiodun.

Abiodun said in the statement that “On 27/1/2025 at about 6.30pm, there was a lone fuel tanker accident with fire explosion along Agaie/Lapai road.

“The fuel tanker with Reg. No. DKA 03 A, was driven by one Shamsudeen Dayabu of Matazun LGA of Katsina State on transit from Lagos to Kaduna and was loaded with about forty thousand liters of PMS.

“On reaching Kusogbogi area of Agaie, the tanker lost control due to a burst front tyre, and fell by the road into the drainage, as a result, the tanker caught fire and affected the driver on the leg and the motor boy was also affected.”

Abiodun said the duo were immediately taken to a nearby hospital, adding that, “No life was lost during the incident as the road was temporarily closed.”