Barely a week after the nation witnessed a horrendous tanker explosion that claimed over 70 lives at Dikko-Maje Junction in Niger State with several injuries sustained by some of the victims, Nigerians woke up again to another similar incident along Enugu-Onitsa road on Saturday, 25 January, 2025, where a tanker laden with petroleum products rammed into several vehicles caught up in a traffic hold up. In the aftermath of the crash, the fallen tanker caught fire which led to loss of 18 lives and destruction of several vehicles in the inferno.

The Enugu incident was yet another sad reminder of how fuel transportation in Nigeria is becoming a great threat to the success of the campaign for safer road environment which FRSC Management under Corps Marshal Shehu Mohammed spent the entire Christmas and new year period prosecuting through public enlightenment programs and his personal participation in the patrol activities across the country. These ugly incidents were particularly worrisome as they occurred when the nation was yet to recover from the agony of similar incident which took place in Majiya area of Jigawa State in October last year with over 200 lives lost and various degree of injuries caused to scores of people that rushed out to scoop spilled fuel from the fallen tanker.

The loss of lives from the Jigawa incident was so enormous that it attracted national outrage and the attention of Mr President who immediately set up a high powered committee to look into the causes of the crash and proffer solutions that could guide against future occurrence. Unfortunately, while the relevant agencies were working assiduously to find solutions to the reoccurrence of the menace, the two incidents in Niger and Enugu states with enormous human and material loses further created the need for urgency in finding lasting  solutions.

It must however be recalled that even though tanker crashes like other road- based emergencies do happen in other places across the world and may not be possible to be completely eradicated by any nation including those with advanced technologies, what such nations have been able to do is to effectively manage cases of fuel spillage even when the tankers fall. Our own cases, have however been difficult and complicated by cases of tankers spilling fuel whenever they fall, thus creating attraction for people who rush to scoop the fuel, mindless of the inherent dangers in their actions.

Take the cases of Jigawa and Dikko Junction in Niger state for instance, the number of casualties recorded could have been minimal had the people not rushed to scoop the spilled fuel and got caught up in the infernos that burnt them beyond reignition. The actions of people in these two unfortunate incidents have obviously alarmed the minds of cross sections of Nigerians as videos of the victims jumping into the freely flowing fuel as if in a swimming pool were so scary and unimaginable.

But that kind of care free attitude bolstered by fatalistic beliefs must stop forthwith, and the ignorance that nurtured the actions must be removed through coordinated and targeted public enlightenment programs and joint efforts of the relevant stakeholders.

In his reaction to the latest incident in Enugu State, Corps Marshal Shehu Mohammed described the crashes in which 18 lives were lost with10 people sustaining various degree of injuries and destruction of 5 vehicles as another calamity that could have been avoided. According to him,  preliminary investigation into the causes of the crash indicated that brake failure was the primary factor while failure to install the Leak-proof appliances popularly known as “safety valves” was responsible for the fuel spillage and consequent explosion that caused the destructions. While commiserating with the government and people of Enugu state and the families of the deceased, the Corps Marshal, urged stakeholders in the petroleum transportation business to come together to carefully reevaluate their roles in safe transportation of the products in order to address the menace of tanker crashes, fuel spillage and people’s penchant for scooping with resultant cases of explosion in the country.

The Corps Marshal further stressed that following the October 2014 Molete tanker incident which occurred in Ibadan, Oyo State and claimed several lives and loss of valuable property, a national summit on the safe transportation of petroleum products was convened  by the FRSC in Abuja in June 2015 where the identified stakeholders in petroleum transportation were given specific roles to play in preventing tanker crashes and fuel spillage even if a crash inevitably occurred, particularly through the installation and maintenance of leak-proof appliances.

Corps Marshal Shehu Mohammed further stated that had all the stakeholders been strictly adhering to the safety protocols as collectively agreed to at the 2015 summit, the nation could have been saved from the harrowing experiences of fallen tankers spilling fuel and attracting people who rushed to scoop but got caught up in the infernos that claimed enormous lives and property as has been witnessed in the recorded cases.

In addition, he disclosed that against the backdrop of the resolutions, FRSC has been very committed to the policy of “safe to load” by deploying its personnel at most of the depot and fuel facilities across the country to ensure that only mechanically functional tankers that meet the minimum safety standards were cleared to load petroleum products from such locations. He however observed with great dismay that, “investigations carried out by the Corps on tankers involved in the various crashes indicated that other players have not been adhering strictly to the agreed safety standards and embarking on internal compliance and enforcement mechanisms that could have guaranteed safety of the vehicles and the products to avoid situations where fallen tankers would spill fuel to attract people that rushed to scoop the products,” he stated

While enumerating the measures being put in place by the FRSC to guide against future occurrence, Corps Marshal Shehu Mohammed stated that FRSC Field Commanders across the country have been directed to strengthen their enforcement mechanisms on strict adherence to the minimum safety standards in tankers, especially the installation of leak-proof appliances (Safety valves). The Corps Marshal further stressed the need for proper re-evaluation and recommitment of the stakeholders to the  2015 summit resolutions on tanker safety in order for the operators to take ownership of the safety of their vehicles with the possibility of another summit coming up this year to restate the commitment.

In addition, the Corps Marshal disclosed that FRSC is collaborating with relevant agencies like the Fire Service and National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) as well as the state governments to create partnerships that could lead to the location of the three agencies at some identified black spots across the country for prompt response whenever the need arises. This, according to him, is to address the questions of time lag in responding promptly to road-based emergencies that may require the participation of fire services and provisions of basic medical and material needs to victims by NEMA

As the nation grapples with the huge human and material loses from the menace of tanker explosion, there’s no doubt that FRSC as the lead agency for road traffic management and safety administration in the country is conscious of its mandate to create safer road environment and ensure post crash care for the victims, and the Corps Marshal as the custodian of road safety in Nigeria is up and doing in his commitment to addressing the menace and bringing succour to the road travelers through collective actions of the stakeholders in fuel transportation business. Some Nigerians who expressed optimism at the success of the measures being taken by the FRSC give kudos to the leadership for his proactive approach to the campaign, saying the only way out of the quagmire is for all stakeholder to join hands with the Corps to say no to the menace of tanker explosion as road safety is a shared responsibility which no government, individual or organizations can adequately handle exclusively.

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