Addressing the Menace of Tanker Explosions

Following the tragic tanker explosion that claimed 102 lives in Niger State recently, Davidson Iriekpen writes that beyond the customary verbal condemnations of the incidents and consolations of the victims, the government should initiate deliberate measures to prevent a reoccurrence

A total of 102 lives have been lost so far in the tragic tanker explosion that occurred recently along the Dikko-Maje Road in Suleja Local Government Area of Niger State. 

Many people are currently receiving treatment for severe burns while several houses and shops were completely destroyed in the inferno, resulting in the loss of millions of naira.

Eyewitnesses said the accident occurred when a tanker carrying 60,000 litres of petrol overturned and another was brought to transfer the petrol it was conveying into it. However, youths and women reportedly rushed to the scene to scoop petrol from the overturned tanker when the explosion took place.

Reacting to the incident, the state Governor, Umar Bago, when he visited the scene of the explosion, described the explosion as pathetic.

He decried the recklessness of some drivers, and directed that they should follow under-the-bridge and take a U-turn appropriately. He called on the Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) to establish a detachment in the area to ensure the enforcement of the directive while calling on relevant transport unions to cooperate with them.

While mourning the victims, President Bola Tinubu directed relevant security and road safety authorities to take action to prevent the recurrence of such incidents nationwide. He also tasked the National Orientation Agency (NOA) with sensitising the public about the dangers of scooping fuel from fallen tankers.

Consequent upon the president’s directive, the federal government had set up a committee comprising the Ministry of Information and National Orientation, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and other critical stakeholders like NEMA, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), the Petroleum Tanker Drivers Association (IPMAN) and all other stakeholders to determine the remote and immediate causes of the incident and how to avert the occurrence or the recurrence of fuel tanker explosions.

The logical questions to ask are: Is the current explosion the first in the country? Will it be the last?

Tanker explosions in Nigeria and the deaths recorded have become regular incidents in recent years with no genuine attempts to tackle the malaise.

In 2020, the FRSC listed 1,531 fuel tanker accidents which claimed over 535 lives. Between September 2024 and now, 265 persons have reportedly been lost to incidences of tanker explosions in parts of the country.

For instance, in October 2024, more than 177 people were killed after a nearly identical incident took place in Majiya, Jigawa State.

In September of the same year, another 59 people were killed in Niger State after a fuel tanker collided with a truck carrying passengers and cattle.

In November, a tanker exploded at Gamoji, along Kano-Maiduguri highway, claiming many lives.

Last December, a fuel tanker involved in a crash exploded in Agbor, Delta State, killing at least five people and destroying many homes and shops.

A similar incident occurred on Wednesday, January 14, 2025 at the Epe-Ijebu Odeyemi expressway.

After the October 2024 incident, President Tinubu reaffirmed the government’s commitment to reviewing and enhancing fuel transportation safety protocols. He also said police would strengthen measures to prevent further accidents, including increased patrols, stricter enforcement of safety regulations, and other highway safety mechanisms.

While many have linked many of the deaths from tanker explosions to increasing poverty, others feel that it is sheer stupidity and foolishness for people to scoop fuel from fallen tankers, given the explosions in previous incidents.

Beyond the incessant tanker explosions in the country, trailers and tankers have killed thousands of people with no consequences to their drivers and owners.

It is really high time Nigerians began to question the relevance of the police, FRSC, VIOs, LASTMA and other traffic agencies in various states of the federation if they cannot ensure safety of the roads.

 One-way driving especially by security agents has now become too common on major highways, leading to many deaths.

Each time an accident occurs, while the driver disappears, the vehicle will be taken to the police station, where it will be sometimes for two or more weeks only to be released to the owners after money has exchanged hands.

Not only are some of these vehicles in terribly bad condition and shape, but they are hardly properly registered with the relevant agencies. 

Rather than apprehend the drivers of these heavy-duty trucks and other commercial vehicles that cause mass deaths in the event of an accident, the police, FRSC, and VIOs allow them to drive dangerously on the roads and go after private car owners who they extort.

When a tanker conveying fuel exploded at the Otedola Bridge in Lagos in 2018, destroying 55 vehicles comprising 32 SUVs, 18 cars, seven buses, three trucks and one tricycle, it exposed the dubiousness of truck drivers and their owners.

The investigation conducted by the Lagos State Government showed that the vehicle, with registration number NSR 888 YQ, was registered in Kano, and not authorised to transport fuel—let alone 33,000 litres.

 The alarming revelation did not spur relevant agencies to intensify truck audits and prosecute those responsible for the manipulations of their documents to serve as a deterrent to others.

It took the latest inferno for the Controller-General of the Federal Fire Service (FSS), Abdulganiyu Jaji, to wake up from slumber with a call for urgent safety reforms in fuel transportation, describing the rising frequency of tanker explosions as worrisome and preventable.

The controller-general specifically called on fuel station owners and tanker operators to address the issue of reckless driving by their drivers, particularly on major roads and hazardous bends. He also warned the public to steer clear of accident sites involving fuel tankers.

In addition, Jaji highlighted the urgent need to modernise the Fire Service Act of 1963 which he said is outdated and inadequate to address today’s safety challenges.

In his reaction, the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of Jama’atu Nasir Islam (JNI), Alhaji Mohammed Sa’ad Abubakar III,  expressed worry that tankers conveying petroleum products are now sources of disastrous road accidents, with agonising loss of lives and property. He called on the federal government to review the safety protocols guiding fuel transportation in Nigeria.

The revered monarch called on all relevant transport and/or road unions to begin to sensitise and educate their members on dangers associated with reckless driving, especially one-way driving, which has now become too common on the Nigerian highways.

“There is the urgent need for the FGN to review the safety protocols guiding fuel transportation in Nigeria, as the repeated explosion calls for serious review, while surveillance should, maximally be accorded to explosion-prone highways,” he added.

Governments at all levels should stop the customary verbal condemnations of the incidents and consolations of the victims and initiate deliberate measures to prevent a recurrence.