Thirty persons were killed, and another forty sustained various degrees of burns while scooping petroleum products from a trailer tanker involved in an accident at about 11 o’clock in the morning on Tuesday, 21st October 2025, along Essa and Badeggi communities, between Bida and Agaie Road, in Katcha Local Council of Niger State.

A reliable source from the area disclosed that the affected victims were involved in scooping petroleum products when the tanker exploded and burned the victims, adding that some people were burnt beyond recognition, while the injured victims were taken to the hospital for medical attention.

However, Niger State Chairman of Tanker Drivers and Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), National Ex-Officio, Comrade Farouk Mohammed Kawo, while confirming the incident in an interview in Minna, said that the tanker was coming from Lagos to the northern part of the country, loaded with petroleum products.

“Over 30 tanker trailers were involved in accidents within this month of October alone in that particular area of the road. That is very bad for motorists plying the route,” he lamented.

Kawo further explained that youths in the community have continued to scoop oil from accident vehicles, saying that even last Sunday, a tanker trailer carrying groundnut oil had an accident and its product was scooped in the same area.

The Chairman of Tanker Drivers has urged the Governor of Niger State, Mohammed Umar Bago, to come to their aid by grading the particular area to ease the movement of trucks and prevent loss of lives and property.