NOA blames poor leadership, values for repeated fuel tanker deaths

The Director-General of the National Orientation Agency, Lanre Issa-Onilu, has condemned the persistent practice of residents rushing to scoop fuel from fallen tankers.

He blamed the recurring explosions and loss of lives on poor community leadership and eroded national values.

Fuel tanker explosions have become a recurring tragedy in Nigeria, often caused by residents attempting to scoop petrol from crashed or leaking tankers. Despite repeated public warnings and campaigns, hundreds of lives have been lost to such incidents over the years.
reports that the latest incident, where at least 39 people were killed and more than 60 others injured, occurred on Tuesday in a fuel tanker explosion at Essa, Katcha Local Government Area of Niger State.

According to the National Emergency Management Agency, the explosion occurred after residents rushed to scoop petrol from a fallen tanker.

Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago had mourned the victims, describing the incident as tragic and avoidable. Reports by PUNCH Online indicated that emergency responders struggled to contain the inferno, which consumed several houses, vehicles, and motorcycles.

Speaking during an interview on Channels Television on Thursday, Issa-Onilu said President Bola Tinubu had given the agency a “marching order” to embark on a nationwide sensitisation campaign after a deadly tanker explosion in Dikko community, Niger State, which killed several people attempting to collect spilled fuel.

You know, following the incident that happened at Dikko, same Niger State, some months ago, where several people died for the same reason, the President gave us a marching order to conduct a nationwide sensitisation,” he said.

He explained that the campaign was launched in the Dikko community and brought together traditional rulers, religious leaders, youth and women groups, and security agencies to address the deadly trend.

“We brought the community leaders, the religious leaders, the police, the civil defence, the youth leader, the women, everybody. But our findings show clearly that sensitisation and enlightenment alone won’t solve this problem. They are quite aware of the danger,” Issa-Onilu said.

He recounted that during the Dikko incident, security operatives arrived early and warned residents to stay away from the spilled product, but were chased away.

The police arrived almost 20 minutes before the fire and tried to prevent the people from approaching the product, but they chased the security personnel away. Barely 10 minutes after they chased them away, the explosion occurred. It was a failure of leadership at the community level because the community leaders did not provide the support the security personnel required. If they had done that, Dikko would not have happened,” he said.

Issa-Onilu said the repeated pattern of people rushing to scoop petrol from fallen tankers showed a deeper social problem.

“I’m sure this particular one, you will find out that it is the whole of the community issue. It’s about values in this country. It’s about values,” he stated.

According to him, the NOA has since met with the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers and other stakeholders to find lasting solutions.

“So we sat with NUPENG in Lagos, at the airport, and they gave us a litany of reasons why things needed to be done differently. And I’m aware that at the level of the downstream petroleum agency, there are stakeholders involved also, and all sorts of regulations have been put forward to ensure that this is curbed,” he said.

He noted that despite awareness efforts and existing safety regulations, many Nigerians still risk their lives for fuel from crashed tankers.

“You can say bad road, yes, we all know the bad spots. They have been defined and documented. But if there is a spillage, why do you go near it when you know the risk involved?” Issa-Onilu asked.

The Essa tragedy adds to a long list of similar incidents across the country. In 1998, over 1,000 people died in Jesse, Delta State, after a pipeline explosion triggered by fuel scooping. Despite repeated warnings from authorities and sensitisation campaigns, such occurrences remain common.

In January 2025, at least 86 people were confirmed dead and over 50 were injured in Dikko community, Niger State, after a petrol tanker overturned and exploded as residents tried to collect the spilled fuel.

The Federal Government, through the NOA and other agencies, has been working to discourage the act through public enlightenment campaigns and collaboration with local leaders, law enforcement, and oil sector unions. However, officials say the continued loss of lives shows that enforcement and community values remain the weakest links in preventing such disasters.