Terrifying scene in Nigeria: at least 70 dead in the explosion of a tanker looted by distressed residents

Sylvie Claire / January 20, 2025

At least 70 people were killed in central Nigeria on Saturday morning when an overturned tanker truck exploded and crowds gathered to collect fuel, according to the National Road Safety Agency.

“The death toll so far stands at 70,” said Kumar Tsukwam, Niger State Director of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), by telephone.

At around 10.00 am on Saturday, the tanker carrying 60,000 liters of petrol crashed at the “Dikko junction”, on the road linking the federal capital, Abuja, to the city of Kaduna, according to the same source.

The economic crisis that Nigeria has been experiencing for the past year and a half has pushed many Nigerians into a precarious situation, not least because of soaring petrol prices.

Some risk their lives to collect fuel, the price of which has risen fivefold in 18 months, in road accidents.

In October, more than 170 people died in the same way in Jigawa state, in the north of Africa's most populous country.

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Terrifying scene in Nigeria: at least 70 dead in the explosion of a tanker looted by distressed residents

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