‘Poverty or Greed,’ what Tinubu, other Nigerians said about the attitude to tanker fall, scooping and explosion
Barely two days after 98 people were burnt to death or injured when a fallen petrol tanker exploded in Niger State, another tanker fell in Bida town of Niger State on Monday.
In a widely circulated video online, young persons were seen milling around the broken down truck.
While some managed to scoop, others fled in different directions, apparently to prevent being caught up in an unfortunate situation.
Premium Times quoted a resident, Yinusa Jiya, as saying, “The people were not even afraid despite earlier assumption that it was petrol.”
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Another eyewitness, Fatimah Mohammed, told the newspaper that the tanker was carrying groundnut oil.
“It fell around AYM Shafa filling station yesterday (Monday) and residents stole huge amounts of the groundnut oil dripping from the tanker”, she added.
The development came two days after the deadly tanker explosion that killed about 98 people around Dikko Junction, Gurara LGA, Niger State.
The Saturday tanker explosion also injured about 55 others.
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Reports indicate that those gathered to collect the spilling fuel were caught in an explosion, which also impacted those trying to assist the victims.
The fire spread across a large area, leaving behind charred remains and widespread destruction.
The explosion is said to have occurred around 9:00 am while efforts were underway to transfer PMS from the overturned tanker to another vehicle.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu while reacting to the situation, mandated the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to step up a campaign against scooping during such a situation.
The Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) said it was worried by the casualty figures and magnitude of burns.
The Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) said 86 bodies were mass-buried on Sunday.
Several other injured victims are still receiving treatment for first degree burns in various hospitals.
Authorities have blamed citizens for the devastating loss of lives and injuries in the explosion, saying the fire was ignited by those trying to scoop fuel.
Niger State has suffered several incidents in the past which resulted in several loss of lives.
More than 50 travellers died in a midnight tanker explosion along the Agaie-Badeggi road on September 8, 2024.