A fuel tanker caught fire while offloading fuel at Shakatu Filling Station in Dutse, Jigawa State, causing widespread panic among residents and commuters.
The fire started suddenly and engulfed the tanker, spreading to parts of the filling station .
Emergency services quickly responded to the incident, with police and security agencies setting up roadblocks to control traffic and prevent casualties.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time Jigawa State has experienced a devastating fuel tanker fire. Just months ago, a similar incident in Majia town resulted in the loss of over 209 lives and injured 124 others. The cause of the current fire is still unknown, and the extent of damage and possible casualties has yet to be determined.
Devastating tanker explosions have rocked Nigeria in 2025, leaving a trail of destruction and loss of life.
One of the most recent incidents occurred on January 18, 2025, in Dikko, near Suleja, Niger State, where a tanker capsized and exploded, killing over 98 people.
This tragedy is part of a larger pattern of tanker explosions in Nigeria.
In the first months of 2025 alone, these incidents have claimed almost 265 lives.
Other recent incidents include a tanker explosion in Delta State on January 6, 2025, which killed four people, and a massive explosion in Jigawa State in October 2024, which killed 209 people and injured 124 others. The root causes of these disasters are complex, but systemic failures, poor maintenance of tankers, and lax enforcement of road safety standards are major contributing factors.
Additionally, the practice of fuel scooping from accident scenes, often motivated by financial hardship, has proven deadly time and again.In response to these tragedies, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has set up a high-level committee to investigate the causes of tanker explosions and recommend solutions.
