86 persons have been killed in the gasoline tanker explosion that occurred at Dikko Junction in Niger State on Saturday. Fifty-five others were injured and transported to the hospital.
As of Saturday, there had been 70 confirmed deaths and 50 injuries.
But since then, more bodies have been found, and all of them have been buried in Dikko, Niger State, in a mass grave.
This information was revealed in a statement issued on Sunday by Abdullahi Baba-Arah, the Director-General of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency.
According to him, the mass burial was carried out by the agency between 5 p.m. and midnight in collaboration with the Gurara Local Government Area and courageous, generous volunteers.
“A total of 86 persons have been confirmed dead, with their corpses recovered and buried.
“Eighty of them were buried in a mass grave at Dikko Primary Healthcare Centre premises, while five were taken by their relatives for burial in the town, and one died at Dikko Primary Healthcare Centre.
“The mass burial was carried out by NSEMA in collaboration with Gurara LGA and courageous volunteers between the hours of 5pm and midnight.
“The number of injured now stands at 55, with one death recorded at Dikko PHC,” Baba-Arah stated.
On Saturday morning, a petroleum tanker that was traveling too fast crashed at Dikko Junction, which is situated between the states of Niger and Kaduna.
The truck erupted in a huge fire as some locals tried to gather fuel that was flowing over the tarmac road. Both people gathering gasoline and those trying to save them were killed in the blast.
Mohammed Umar Bago, the governor of Niger State, visited the site of the fatal explosion on Saturday and banned cars from the Maje axis from crossing the Dikko Bridge.
While examining the scene of the tanker explosion at Dikko Junction in the Gurara Local Government Area of Niger State, the governor issued the order.
Bago criticized some drivers’ carelessness and told cars coming from Maje that using the bridge was inappropriate.
Instead, they should utilize the underpass and make the proper U-turn.In a statement released on Sunday, Bologi Ibrahim, the governor’s chief press secretary, affirmed the order.
“Niger State Government has directed that no vehicle coming from the Maje axis should be allowed to pass over the Dikko Bridge.
“Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago issued this directive during his visit to the scene of the tanker explosion at Dikko Junction, Gurara LGA.
“The governor, who criticised the recklessness of certain drivers, said vehicles from Maje must use the underpass and make the U-turn correctly.
“He also urged the Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps to establish a detachment in the area to enforce the directive and called on all relevant transport unions to cooperate with the Road Safety Corps,” Ibrahim stated.
The governor expressed his gratitude to NSEMA, the Fire Service, the Federal Road Safety Corps, and the Union of Road Transport Workers, among others, for their contributions in evacuating the victims.
He also declared that doctors from Minna hospitals would be redeployed to assist in treating the injured victims now receiving care at Suleja General Hospital.