The Federal Road Safety Corps, Benue Sector Commander, Mr Steve Ayodele on Tuesday, said at least 411 Nigerians lost their lives while scooping fuel from fallen tankers in 2024.
Ayodele, who made the disclosure in Makurdi, Benue State capital on Tuesday at a town hall meeting with trailer and tanker drivers on crash prevention, said that the number represents 7.6 per cent of total road traffic deaths in 2024 alone, noting it was beyond fatalities.
Speaking at the well attended at the town hall meeting with the theme “Discourage Fuel Scooping and Other Anti-Road Traffic Attitudes” Ayodele said the meeting was put in place to mitigate such crashes.
“Tanker explosions often cause life-threatening burns and destroy shops, vehicles, and infrastructure, while also deepening the economic hardships of victims’ families.
“Fuel scooping and other anti-traffic behaviours were 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,” Ayodele said.
The sector commander at the meeting also stressed that unregulated driving hours, overloaded tankers, and inadequate safety inspections remain major contributors to accidents.
He called on participants, including drivers, community leaders, and government agencies, to commit to changing attitudes and protecting lives.
The Head of Operations, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Mr Babalola Sheba, in his own address at the town hall meeting, decried the environmental and health hazards linked to fuel scooping.
Sheba warned that fuel spills pollute the soil, water, and air, contaminate drinking water, and harm agriculture and aquatic life.
