Daniel Otera
Nigeria’s roads, the vital arteries of commerce and connectivity, are plagued by accidents that claim thousands of lives every year. However, a deeper dive into the 2024 data uncovers a frightening secondary peril: the deadly rush to scoop fuel from overturned tankers. This practice, driven by economic desperation amidst skyrocketing fuel prices, has become a silent killer—exacerbating fatalities and unleashing long-term environmental and health crises.
According to the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), 411 Nigerians lost their lives in fuel scooping incidents in 2024. This represents 7.6% of the nation’s total road traffic fatalities, which stood at 5,421. These statistics, drawn from nationwide crash reports, highlight how an initial tanker accident spirals into catastrophe when bystanders, lured by the prospect of cheap fuel, ignore the inherent dangers.
The FRSC’s 2024 performance report, released in January 2025, paints a broader picture of road safety challenges in Nigeria. While overall road traffic crashes dropped by 10% to 9,570 from 10,617 in 2023, fatalities rose by 7%. Injuries decreased slightly from 31,874 to 31,154. Corps Marshal Shehu Mohammed pointed out that while reckless driving, overloading, and fatigue are primary culprits, secondary behaviors like fuel scooping are amplifying the toll. “Out of the total fatalities in 2024, 411 deaths 7.6% were not primarily caused by the crashes but by secondary factors such as fuel scooping,” Mohammed explained during a press briefing in Abuja.
These figures were corroborated by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which reported 2,662 crashes and 1,471 deaths in Q1 2024 alone. This paints a grim picture of how avoidable actions turn survivable incidents into mass tragedies.
Tanker overturns, which often trigger scooping incidents, can be attributed to mechanical failures, poor road conditions, and overloading issues that are rampant across Nigeria’s highways. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), road traffic injuries remain a significant global health problem, with 1.35 million deaths annually. Africa bears a disproportionate share of this burden, with a mortality rate of 26.6 deaths per 100,000 population, far exceeding Europe’s rate of 9.3.
In Nigeria, road traffic fatalities are a major concern. WHO’s 2018 Global Status Report on Road Safety estimated that approximately 40,000 Nigerians die each year in road traffic accidents. Tanker-related explosions are particularly lethal, with petrol tankers often at the center of these deadly incidents.
In 2020, the FRSC documented 1,531 petrol tanker crashes, resulting in 535 deaths and 1,142 injuries. Many of these crashes were linked to post-crash fuel siphoning—an incredibly dangerous practice that further amplifies the risks. “Unregulated driving hours, overloaded tankers, and inadequate safety inspections are major contributors to accidents,” noted FRSC Sector Commander Steve Ayodele in Benue State.
Fuel scooping doesn’t only result in immediate fatalities; it causes profound long-term damage. Victims often endure life-threatening burns, as seen in the October 2024 disaster in Jigawa State. An overturned tanker exploded in Majiya town, killing 153 people, many of whom were villagers scooping petrol in the dark. Over 100 were severely burned in the inferno.
Similarly, a January 2025 explosion in Niger State’s Suleja killed 86 people, with 52 others suffering burns as crowds used generators to siphon fuel, igniting the blaze. Between October 2024 and January 2025, 300 deaths were reported from such incidents, underscoring the lethal consequences of economic hardship driving people to take deadly risks. The incidents highlight how scooping fuels are transforming avoidable accidents into mass homicides.
The FRSC reports that fuel scooping is responsible for hundreds of fatalities, with victims often “burnt beyond recognition” in the aftermath of these explosions. This calls attention to the urgent need for better enforcement of traffic regulations and community awareness to reduce these deadly practices.
The environmental fallout from tanker explosions and fuel spills is equally alarming. Fuel spills contaminate soil, water, and air, wreaking havoc on local ecosystems. Inhaling fuel fumes can cause respiratory issues and skin irritation, while broader pollution contributes to acid rain and biodiversity loss. In the Niger Delta, home to substantial oil reserves, the environmental consequences of frequent oil spills are well-documented. A 2021 study in the Journal of Environmental Management revealed that these spills release an estimated 40 million liters of crude oil annually, introducing carcinogenic and toxic compounds into the environment.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has highlighted the destruction of mangrove forests in Ogoniland due to oil spills. Mangroves play a crucial role in protecting coastal ecosystems and supporting local fisheries, which millions of people depend on for their livelihoods. The loss of these vital ecosystems severely impacts food security and local economies.
Beyond the Niger Delta, other regions in Nigeria, like Benue, are also suffering from oil tanker-related accidents. The NBS reported that 1,095 tanker-related crashes occurred in the first quarter of 2022 alone, many of which resulted in severe soil degradation, harming crops like yam and cassava. These long-term agricultural impacts pose significant risks to local food security and economic stability.
In response to the rising dangers, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has introduced several regulatory measures. These include mandatory anti-spill valves, speed limiters on tankers, and a color-coding system to distinguish different types of fuel. The NMDPRA has also set a limit on tanker capacity, aiming to reduce overloading by restricting tankers larger than 60,000 liters from March 2025.
Despite these efforts, challenges remain. The FRSC’s “Operation Zero Tolerance” in 2024 led to the arrest of 21,580 offenders, reflecting a 26% improvement in compliance. However, as Emmanuel Ogbanje, the FRSC State Coordinator for Benue, emphasized, preventing fuel scooping requires a cultural shift towards regular vehicle inspections and strict adherence to traffic laws.
Nigeria faces significant road safety challenges, with road traffic injuries emerging as a major public health issue. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), road traffic injuries caused an estimated 225,482 deaths in 2021 across the African Region. Despite representing just 15% of the global population and owning only 3% of the world’s vehicles, Africa accounts for 19% of global deaths from road traffic injuries.
In Nigeria, road traffic injuries are the third-leading cause of overall deaths and the leading cause of trauma-related fatalities. With a mortality rate of approximately 1,042 deaths per 100,000 vehicles, Nigeria’s road safety figures are among the highest globally. This stark contrast highlights the severity of the problem, especially when compared to countries like the United States and the United Kingdom, where the rates are 15 and 7 per 100,000 vehicles, respectively.
A key challenge in addressing road safety in Nigeria is the fragmented and inconsistent data collection systems. A study on road traffic crash (RTC) data management in southwestern Nigeria revealed significant gaps in how road traffic data is collected and managed. Over 55% of agencies involved in data collection use non-standardized paper forms, while key crash data elements recommended by the WHO are often missing. This lack of standardized and accurate data makes it difficult for authorities to respond effectively and develop informed policies to tackle road traffic accidents.
To effectively address the rising fatalities and injuries, Nigeria must invest in improving data collection systems, enforce stricter traffic laws, and prioritize road infrastructure improvements.
This data-driven approach will be crucial in reducing the country’s alarmingly high road traffic death toll.