Diko tanker accident, a tragedy too many

Nigerians woke up to yet another tragedy on Saturday, January 18, 2025, when a 60,000-litre articulated vehicle laden with petrol was involved in an accident at Dikko Junction, along Abuja-Kaduna expressway, Gurara Local Government Area of Niger State. No fewer than 98 people reportedly died while 43 others were hospitalised, some in critical condition. Most […]

Nigerians woke up to yet another tragedy on Saturday, January 18, 2025, when a 60,000-litre articulated vehicle laden with petrol was involved in an accident at Dikko Junction, along Abuja-Kaduna expressway, Gurara Local Government Area of Niger State.

No fewer than 98 people reportedly died while 43 others were hospitalised, some in critical condition. Most of the dead and injured were said to have gathered around the fallen vehicle to scoop petrol.

Data independently gathered by this newspaper showed that about 650 people have died from such related accidents in the last five years alone, and more than 571 suffered various degrees of injury in 35 incidents between January 7, 2021 and January 25, 2025.

These include 79 deaths and 128 injuries in 2021, 98 deaths and 30 injuries in 2022, 61 deaths and 57 deaths in 2023, 289 deaths and 109 injuries in 2024 and 103 deaths and 47 injuries this January alone.

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The chief cause of the deaths, injuries and destruction from such accidents has been the habit of Nigerians to troop to the scene of the accidents with the hope of making a gain, not minding the inherent dangers involved by scooping the fuel from the fallen vehicles.

Just barely three months ago in Majia town, Taura Local Government Area of Jigawa State, 209 people died in a similar incident.

But more worrying is the fact that many Nigerians seem to have quickly forgotten the latest incident at Dikko Junction because a few days later, people trooped to another accident scene to scoop what turned out to be groundnut oil from a fallen tanker.

The accident happened at Power M. Junction, Bida, which is a few kilometres away from Dikko.

We at Daily Trust believe there is an urgent need for attitudinal change among Nigerians. It is irresponsible for anyone to besiege a scene of an accident not to render help to the victims involved but to steal. This action runs counter to our way of life of being our brothers’ keepers. It is sad that we do not see this action as criminal because we are taking that which does not belong to us. This mindset must change if we are to save ourselves from future calamities.

The National Orientation Agency (NOA) should take the lead of mounting an aggressive campaign against this suicidal act which has continued to claim lives.

Also, ministries of information and public enlightenment agencies at local level should join in this campaign, especially since they deal with the local populace.

Community, traditional and religious leaders should also make it a point of duty to enlighten their subjects and followers on the dangers inherent in such acts.

We welcome the decision by President Bola Tinubu who directed the setting up of a committee comprising the Ministry of Information and National Orientation, Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, other critical stakeholders like National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Standard Organisation of Nigeria, Federal Road Safety Commission, NARTO, NUPENG, IPMAN to investigate the remote and immediate causes of these accidents and how to avoid their recurrence.

However, we urge the government to walk the talk.  There were so many directives and conferences designed towards finding a lasting solution to this menace, but decisions were often forgotten or not implemented after.

We can immediately begin by asking agencies such as the Federal Road Safety Corps and Vehicle Inspectorate Division to ensure strict adherence to traffic rules and regulations.

Many of the articulated vehicles plying our roads are not roadworthy while the drivers are either not qualified or do not adhere to traffic regulations. Many of the accidents are attributed to these factors. Such vehicles must be off our roads and such drivers must be stopped from driving on our highways.

The government needs to also embark on massive rehabilitation of our roads. Many of these accidents are as a result of potholes that have taken over many of our highways.

We also urge the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited to embark on the rehabilitation of its numerous depots across the country. This will reduce the prevalence of articulated vehicles on our roads and reduce such accidents.

The Nigeria Railway Corporation can also assist by introducing haulage of petroleum products to different parts of the country to further save our nation from more calamities.

A stitch in time saves nine.