The 411 Nigerians killed scooping fuel in 2024

DEATH walks with a child, says a local saying, and the child is not aware. It is a troubling scenario when people willingly walk into the waiting arms of certain death, and that, sadly, is what many Nigerians have been doing for years with fallen fuel tankers. As soon as a tanker, often piloted by a reckless driver, tumbles and fuel spills on the road, a massive crowd emerges from the immediate environment and sets upon it, scooping free fuel. It is, as it were, manna from heaven, and no one spares a thought for the driver, his truck or, for that matter, the business owner. What matters is an opportunity to make quick money. Free fuel has landed, and different sorts of containers, from buckets to kegs and jerry cans, are seen on the scene as the crowd surges and everyone tries to get as much fuel as they can, even if it is afternoon and the environment is sweltering. However, what seems like fortune often ends in fatal disaster: a spark from a phone, metal object, or even electric poles can trigger a deadly explosion, engulfing bystanders in seconds. The fire spreads in a jiffy, consuming everything in sight. The fire destroys vehicles, property, and sometimes entire communities. Across the country, this kind of scenario has occurred time and again, and as the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) recently revealed, 411 Nigerians died in 2024 while attempting to scoop fuel from fallen tankers.

Speaking during a town hall meeting with trailer and tanker drivers on crash prevention in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, the Benue State Sector Commander of the corps, Steve Ayodele, stated that the fatalities accounted for 7.6 percent of all road traffic deaths recorded in 2024, stressing that the impact went beyond the number of lives lost. Said the corps commander: “Tanker explosions often cause life-threatening burns and destroy shops, vehicles and infrastructure while also deepening the economic hardship of victims’ families. Fuel scooping and other anti-traffic behaviours are turning avoidable road accidents into major disasters. Tanker and trailer crashes often leave behind devastating consequences, worsening tragedies with unsafe conduct of people at crash sites. Fuel scooping, reckless driving, disobedience to traffic rules and roadside trading near accident-prone areas are actions that put lives at risk. Fuel scooping has become one of the deadliest practices on Nigerian roads. Instead of recognising spilt fuel as a hazard, many Nigerians rush to collect it. We have witnessed tragic incidents where lives were lost due to fires caused by this reckless act.”

Also speaking on the occasion, the Head of Operations at the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Mr Babalola Sheba, condemned fuel scooping, saying that spills usually contaminated soil, water and air, damaging agriculture and aquatic life while exposing people to respiratory and skin problems. Sheba disclosed that the agency had resolved to enforce the installation of anti-spill safety valves and speed limiters on petroleum tankers, alongside introducing a colour-coding system for fuel trucks.  According to him, light blue represents petrol, deep yellow and light blue for diesel, deep yellow for kerosene, black for aviation fuel, and deep green for biofuels.

To be sure, the menace of people scooping fuel from fallen tankers and getting burnt has assumed a troubling dimension in recent times. Among many gory incidents, in 2019, over 50 people died in Ahumbe, Benue State, when a fallen tanker exploded as residents tried to scoop fuel. In 2020, several lives were lost on the Ibadan-Ife Expressway in a tanker explosion that occurred while villagers were collecting spilt petrol. Despite countless warnings from the FRSC, these tragedies persist, driven largely by opportunism and the failure to cordon off crash scenes quickly. The consistent loss of life definitely calls for urgent nationwide sensitisation and stricter emergency protocols to stop this deadly practice.

Across the country, fuel tanker accidents have become a recurring national tragedy, not merely because of the crashes themselves but because of the reckless response that often follows. Each time a tanker falls, crowds rush to scoop petrol, ignoring repeated warnings and the grave risks involved. The result, as we have seen, is almost always the same: an avoidable inferno, mass casualties, and another blot on Nigeria’s collective conscience. If anything, the fact that no fewer than 411 Nigerians lost their lives in 2024 alone in incidents linked to such crashes is distressing. This grim statistic underscores the scale of this preventable disaster. The culture of recklessness cannot be excused, and it must no longer be tolerated. It is shameful that despite years of repeated warnings and countless fatalities, this dangerous behaviour persists. The lure of “free fuel” blinds people to the fact that petrol is a volatile substance that can ignite with the slightest spark. Many of those who perish in these infernos are not only victims of poverty but also of ignorance and recklessness. The tragic truth is that no gallon of stolen fuel is ever worth a human life.

The conduct of citizens who, in utter disregard for the lessons of past disasters, continue to swarm accident scenes with jerry cans, scooping fuel as if courting death, cannot be excused. These individuals cannot plead ignorance; the countless infernos that have claimed lives are public knowledge. At the heart of this behaviour is a dangerous mix of greed, lawlessness and disregard for human life. By converting crash sites into theatres of chaos, the perpetrators endanger themselves, imperil rescuers, and place entire communities at risk. It is a reckless culture that demeans Nigeria’s collective humanity and must no longer be excused or romanticised as poverty-driven desperation. It is, therefore, incumbent on the authorities to act with firmness and urgency, ensuring swift cordoning of the affected area, the deployment of law enforcement, and the removal of potential hazards before tragedy strikes. Anything less amounts to dereliction of duty. Security agencies must understand that their presence at crash sites is to save lives. They must never tacitly endorse mass suicide. Government must prove, through decisive and consistent action, that Nigerian lives are not expendable.

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We urge Nigerians to desist from the deadly act of scooping fuel from fallen tankers, no matter the temptation of quick gain. We equally urge the authorities to enforce immediate safety measures whenever such accidents occur, ensuring crash sites are secured and lives protected. A nation that watches its citizens perish in avoidable infernos betrays its own future. Public enlightenment campaigns are needed: the  highways must cease to be theatres of needless tragedy. Communities must be sensitised about the extreme risks, and people must learn to value safety over momentary gain. How many more lives must be lost before this dangerous habit is halted? No amount of free fuel is worth a human life.

While there is also a need to fight poverty more decisively, the authorities need to evolve safer means of fuel transport.  The present system is too risk-prone.