Tragedy struck Abuja’s Karu Bridge on March 19, 2025, as a tanker explosion claimed lives, injured dozens, and reduced vehicles to smoldering wreckage.
The horrific incident, occurring during peak traffic, ignited widespread outrage over Nigeria’s crumbling infrastructure and emergency response gaps.
In a strongly worded statement, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) blamed the ruling APC for systemic failures enabling such “preventable disasters.”
Hon. Debo Ologunagba, PDP National Publicity Secretary, accused the government of neglecting citizen safety, citing repeated infrastructure collapses under APC leadership.
He directly linked the explosion to “chronic misgovernance,” stressing, “Families now bury loved ones due to leadership indifference.”
Meanwhile, distraught survivors recounted narrow escapes, with one motorist describing “flames swallowing cars like paper” in panicked crowds.
This disaster follows months of fuel tanker crashes nationwide, exposing lax safety protocols and aging road networks.
Witnesses described chaotic rescue efforts as firefighters battled exploding fuel tanks and locals pulled victims from twisted metal.
Despite challenges, emergency responders—including police, FRSC, and Civil Defense—earned praise for their relentless, life-saving interventions.
The PDP specifically acknowledged brave citizens who formed human chains to rescue trapped motorists amid suffocating smoke.
However, the opposition demanded immediate action: p“We urge a transparent probe into this avoidable tragedy,” Ologunagba insisted.
They demanded urgent infrastructure audits, modernized traffic laws, and stricter enforcement of vehicle safety standards nationwide.
As smoke cleared, grief-stricken families gathered at hospitals, clutching photographs to identify charred remains of missing relatives.
This tragedy reignited fierce debates on social media, with Nigerians sharing harrowing stories of roads-turned-death-traps.
Citizens shared videos of pothole-riddled highways and overloaded tankers, questioning why warnings went unheeded for years.
Experts argue decaying infrastructure reflects deeper issues: poor maintenance budgets, corruption, and unchecked urbanization choking cities.
Nigerians across socioeconomic lines echoed calls for accountability, demanding prosecutions for negligent officials and contractors.
While authorities investigate, activists urge immediate aid for victims’ families and stricter penalties for reckless drivers.
For grieving families, however, reforms come too late. “My children’s future died in that fire,” a widow lamented.
This moment demands more than condolences—it requires transformative action to prevent Nigeria’s roads from becoming mass graves.