Tuesday, 21 January 2025 04:42

Death toll from Niger state fuel truck explosion rises to 98

Rate this item
(0 votes)

The death toll from a fuel truck explosion in Nigeria has climbed to 98 after additional bodies were recovered on Monday, according to the Niger state emergency agency. The blast occurred on Saturday in Dikko, Niger State, after a petrol truck overturned and ignited while people were gathering fuel from the wreckage.

Abdullahi Baba-Ara, Director-General of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, confirmed that 80 victims were buried in a mass grave near a health center in Dikko over the weekend. “After clearing the wreckage of the Dikko tanker, we discovered 12 more bodies today, raising the death toll to 98,” Baba-Ara told Reuters.

The explosion also left 69 people hospitalized with injuries.

This tragedy is the deadliest fuel truck explosion since October, when a similar incident in Jigawa State claimed 147 lives. Such accidents have become frequent in Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer, as the country struggles with a severe cost-of-living crisis.

Fuel prices have soared since President Bola Tinubu removed a petrol subsidy in 2023, further straining the population and contributing to the desperation that often leads people to risk their lives collecting fuel from tanker accidents.

April 19, 2025

Nigerian Stock market rebounds as capitalization rises by N240bn

The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) bounced back on Thursday as market capitalization increased by N240…
April 21, 2025

Tunde Bakare to Tinubu: ‘Stop playing God, embrace humility’

In a fiery Easter Sunday state-of-the-nation address delivered in Lagos, Tunde Bakare, the serving overseer…
April 21, 2025

How Easter transformed the world like nothing else ever could

Scott S. Powell Across cultures throughout human history, people have sought to flee oppression and…
April 19, 2025

UFO: US Navy reports on mysterious aircraft launching from sea

A group of unidentified flying objects spotted by Navy sailors is raising eyebrows after witnesses…
April 21, 2025

Gunmen kidnap 4 travellers on Kwara highway

Suspected gunmen have abducted four travellers heading to Offa in Kwara state from the Federal…
April 21, 2025

What to know after Day 1152 of Russia-Ukraine war

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE Kyiv and Moscow accuse each other of countless violations of one-day Easter ceasefire…
April 15, 2025

Is it finally safe to ditch your phone case? I put it to the test

Thomas Germain With smartphones tougher than ever, a new wave of phone minimalists say cases…
January 08, 2025

NFF appoints new Super Eagles head coach

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has appointed Éric Sékou Chelle as the new Head Coach…

NEWSSCROLL TEAM: 'Sina Kawonise: Publisher/Editor-in-Chief; Afolabi Ajibola: IT Manager;
Contact Us: [email protected] Tel/WhatsApp: +234 811 395 4049

Copyright © 2015 - 2025 NewsScroll. All rights reserved.