Published On 22/10/2025
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Last update: 02:46 (Mecca time)
At least 29 people were killed and 42 injured on Tuesday as a tanker truck exploded after a traffic accident in Niger State, central Nigeria, according to what ambulance services reported.
A local official said, “A truck transporting fuel overturned and people gathered to collect fuel, then the truck exploded and caught fire.”
According to Agence France-Presse, fuel tanker accidents are common in Nigeria, as many roads are not properly maintained, and residents rush to fill leaking fuel as a result of accidents that often result from excessive speed and non-compliance with traffic laws.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu abolished fuel subsidies and controls imposed on exchange rates upon assuming office in May 2023, under the pretext of reviving the economy, but his measures sparked a crisis as they raised the cost of living in Africa’s most populous country, prompting many residents to take major risks in order to obtain fuel.
Last March witnessed a similar accident in which 10 people were killed, while last January witnessed a disaster in which 98 people were killed in an explosion after they rushed to fill fuel from a tanker that had been involved in an accident in Niger State.