Governor Umar Bago of Niger State has banned heavy-duty trucks from using the one-way route through Dikko Bridge following a devastating tanker explosion on Saturday, January 18.
The explosion occurred on Saturday, January 19, when a petrol tanker crashed, and another tanker was brought in to transfer its contents, leading to the tragedy.
NEMA Director-General Abdullahi Baba-Arah confirmed the death toll at 86 persons.
The Governor announced the directive during a visit to the explosion site at Dikko Junction, expressing deep sorrow over the tragic loss of lives and describing the incident as “pathetic.”
Bago noted with relief that the explosion did not spread to nearby communities, but he criticized the recklessness of some drivers, which he attributed to such incidents. He directed that vehicles coming from the Maje axis must now use the route beneath the bridge and take a U-turn instead of the one-way route.
He also called on the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) sector commander to deploy a detachment to the area to enforce the new directive. The Governor urged transport unions to cooperate with the FRSC to ensure compliance.
Bago attributed the frequent accidents in the area to delays in completing the Minna-Suleja road project and appealed to the Federal Government to expedite its completion.
Commending the swift response of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the Fire Service, FRSC, and the National Union of Road Transport Workers, Bago noted their role in evacuating victims from the site.
He further announced that doctors from hospitals in Minna would be redeployed to assist in treating the injured victims currently receiving care at Suleja General Hospital.
The fuel tanker explosion killed 86 people and injured dozens.
Ibrahim Audu Husseini, spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency in Niger State said: “We buried 86 burnt corpses between 12:00 pm yesterday to 2:00 am of today. It took us 14 hours to bury the bodies because we couldn’t get excavators and had to get locals to dig the mass grave manually.”
He said 52 other people suffered “severe burns from the explosion”.
