The explosion occurred around 11:00 a.m. in the Essan and Badeggi communities of Katcha Local Government Area, when residents reportedly rushed to scoop fuel from a crashed tanker carrying petroleum products from Lagos to northern Nigeria.
Eyewitnesses said the vehicle overturned while navigating a bad section of the road, spilling its contents across the highway. Moments later, the tanker exploded, triggering a massive fire that burnt several people beyond recognition and destroyed nearby vehicles and property.
Emergency responders and volunteers evacuated the injured to nearby hospitals, while security personnel cordoned off the area to prevent further casualties.
Confirming the incident, Chairman of the Niger State Tanker Drivers Association and National Ex-Officio of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Comrade Farouk Kawo, described the explosion as “devastating and avoidable.”
He disclosed that over 30 tanker accidents had been recorded along the Bida–Agaie route in October alone, blaming the rising spate of crashes on the deplorable condition of the road.
“This tragedy was entirely preventable. The bad road and reckless scooping of spilt fuel continue to claim innocent lives,” Kawo said. “Just last Sunday, a tanker carrying groundnut oil also crashed in the same area.”
Kawo appealed to Governor Umaru Bago to immediately rehabilitate the failed sections of the highway to avert further loss of lives and property.
Bago, in a condolence message issued through his media office, described the incident as “worrisome and tragic,” warning residents against the dangerous practice of scooping fuel from accident scenes.
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) confirmed that rescue operations were concluded late Tuesday afternoon, adding that the poor state of the road hampered emergency response.
The Director-General of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), Abdullahi Baba-Arah, could not be reached for comment as calls to his mobile phone went unanswered.
The latest disaster adds to a growing list of fatal tanker explosions across the country, often blamed on bad roads, poorly maintained vehicles, and unsafe crowd behaviour during fuel spills.
