Panic gripped residents of Takalafiya village in Niger State after a petrol-laden tanker overturned on the Lambata–Lapai–Agaie Road early Sunday morning.
Diaspora Digital Media gathered that the incident occurred around 2 km from Lapai town in the Lapai Local Government Area.
Witnesses said the tanker, which was en route from Lagos to Kano, lost balance and fell while navigating a bad portion of the road.
A resident, Mallam Mahmud Abubakar, told reporters that the affected section of the road was recently reconstructed under an ongoing NNPC Limited intervention project but had already started deteriorating.
“The road was fixed not long ago, but it’s already getting bad again,” Abubakar said.
Another eyewitness, Mohammed Hassan Sonmaji, said the quick response of the fire service team from Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University (IBBUL), Lapai, and personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) helped avert a major tragedy.
He added that members of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Lapai Chapter, also mobilized to the scene to manage the situation.
To prevent further danger, locals and emergency workers recovered the spilled fuel into drums. This measure, officials said, was taken to avoid waste and minimize environmental hazards.
Confirming the incident, Dr. Ibrahim Audu Hussaini, Director of Information and Special Duties at the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), said there was no cause for alarm.
“The truck did not explode. Firefighting trucks from IBB University are on standby, and security personnel have been deployed to guard the scene,” Hussaini said.
The prompt actions of the emergency units prevented what could have been another devastating fuel explosion in the state, where similar accidents have caused fatalities in recent years.
Residents, however, called on the government to speed up repairs along the Lambata–Lapai–Agaie corridor to prevent future tanker mishaps.