Category Nigeria News

The tragic petrol tanker explosion that occurred on Tuesday at the Essa community in Katcha Local Government Area, which claimed several lives and injured many others, has been condolened by the Niger State Government.

The government expressed its support for the victims and their families in a statement released by Murtala Bagana, the governor’s special adviser to the governor on special duties.

“We feel heavy in our hearts as the people of Essa and the surrounding communities deplore.” Our state suffers greatly from this. We show our support for all those who have been affected, according to Bagana.

A powerful delegation led by Bagana visited the scene of the incident and the hospitals where the injured victims are being treated, following Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago’s orders.

He made it clear that the governor had approved comprehensive and cost-free medical care for all the explosion victims.

Read more about the Niger State Tanker Explosion: Residents Blame Bad Road, Death Toll Hits 42.

He claims that people who have sustained serious injuries are being transported to the National Hospital, Gwagwalada, for advanced treatment, while others are receiving care at the Federal Medical Center (FMC) Bida and Agaie General Hospital.

Bagana rebuked the bereaved families while offering condolences for the dangerous practice of scooping fuel from tankers that have caused numerous tragedies throughout the nation.

We grieve with the affected families and offer our prayers for the departed’s souls. Additionally, we urge people to refrain from hurling fuel from accident-planning. He stated that our administration is “remaining fully committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of our citizens.”

To prevent similar incidents in the future, the Niger State Government reiterated its commitment to improving road safety, emergency response, and infrastructure rehabilitation across the state.

42 people were killed in the explosion, and more than 60 were hurt.

A tanker flipped on the deteriorating Bida–Badeggi–Agaie Road, causing an explosion as locals attempted to remove fuel from the fallen vehicle.

The injured, which included men, women, and children, each had varying degrees of burns, according to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

For the rescue operations, which continued as some residents were still unaccounted for, emergency responders, including the police, DSS, NSCDC, FRSC, and local volunteers, were dispatched to the scene.

Three suspected gunrunners have been detained by Department of State Services (DSS) operations after allegedly providing bandits with weapons and ammunition in Kaduna State.

According to the agency, the state’s Igabi and Kachia Local Government Areas were the subjects of coordinated sting operations.

A 30-year-old man was being detained along the Nnamdi Azikiwe Bypass in Igabi while carrying 200 rounds of live ammunition, four empty magazines, and two AK-47 rifles, one of which was being transported by a PKT machine gun.

In a Volkswagen Golf car, two others were detained in Kachia’s Doka village while attempting to sell three AK-47 rifles to bandits along the Abuja–Kaduna Expressway.

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Governor Uba Sani praised the DSS for conducting the operation and said that under his administration’s peace model, there would no place for bandits and other criminal elements to hide.

The governor thanked President Bola Tinubu and the Director-General of the DSS for continuing to support Kaduna’s security framework through his Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Sule Shuaibu (SAN).

He noted that the state’s non-kinetic peace model, which his administration introduced, has significantly lowered crime rates, and warned against engaging in criminal activity that might compromise stability.

The DSS maintained that ongoing inquiries are being conducted and that suspects would face full legal repercussions.

The state’s Department of State Services (DSS) memo to the 32nd Brigade of the Nigerian Army in Akure, the state capital, has sparked fears for the Ondo government.

According to the memo, members of the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) planned to attack some Ondo communities.

Idowu Ajanaku, the Ogun State Commissioner of Information and Orientation, stated in a statement that the memo was a part of regular intelligence reports that security agencies and the government share regularly.

He believes that these reports are routinely made as part of security operations to identify and avoid potential threats.

Ajanaku assured the public that the state’s government and relevant security organizations are taking necessary steps to improve security.

Also Read: Two Accomplices Arrested In Ondo, Suspect Illegal Arms Manufacturer.

The statement read in part as “the public can be assured that the government is taking necessary precautions to ensure safety and security” and that the government is acting on these reports.

“To prevent and respond to any potential threats, security agencies and the government must continue to cooperate and maintain vigilance.”

We urge all residents to remain vigilant and composed while contacting the security company that is closest to them for any suspicious activity. We want to reassure you that Ondo State is taking every precaution possible to stop any attack.

Read more: Police Arrest Father For alleged rape of a teenage daughter in Ondo.

According to the commissioner, the state government is making several safeguards for residents, particularly those who live in border communities, to keep Ondo State as one of the nation’s safest.

The House of Assembly of Edo State has passed a bill to repeal the 2025 Customary Court of Appeal and enact a law to restore the state’s Customary Court of Appeal.

The committee of the whole took the bill into consideration and decided to adopt it clause by clause.

Also read:   Edo To Regulate Scavengers, Scrap Dealers To Stop Vandalism 

The bill’s clerk, Alhaji Audu Omogbai, was given the order from the Speaker, Blessing Agbebaku, to send them to the governor of Edo State, Senator Monday Okpebholo, for his approval.

The House also received a report on a bill to establish the Edo State Property Protection Committee, which was presented to the House by Maria Edeko, a member representing the Esan North East II constituency, the chairman of the Committee on Security and Public Safety.

The report aims to address the issues relating to the protection of government buildings, properties, and other issues in addition to its four findings and one recommendation.

The chairman claimed that during their regular meetings, some gaps in the bill were found and appropriate amendments were made.

The committee’s amendments to the report were later approved by the House.

Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, has expressed condolences to the affected families and the government of Niger State for the Katcha gas tanker explosion that left over 42 people dead.

Also read: Niger State Tanker Explosion Death Toll Hits 42, Residents Blame Bad Road

Obi expressed sadness and pain over “poverty continues to force our people into circumstances where they must risk their lives to survive.”

He believes that no one should simply attempt to live.

“I send my deepest condolences to the governor of Niger State, the affected communities, and the families who lost loved ones. In a post on X, he wrote, “It is both sad and painful that poverty continues to put our people in dangerous situations where they must risk their lives to survive.”

The Labour Party’s (LP) candidate for president in 2023 called the tragedies “almost daily” in our country heartbreaking.

According to Obi, “Those in power frequently respond with silence and indifference because the loss of lives has become so frequent.”

“This is unacceptable.” I make a second-time plea to the leaders to show more compassion, empathy, and responsibility.

Read more about Sanwo-Olu’s comments to the Niger governor and the families of the victims of the tanker explosion.

We must continue to work toward creating a world where everyone lives in dignity.

“These unrecurring tragedies should remind us of our collective responsibility to build a Nigeria where no one has to die merely by trying to survive.”

“May all those who lost their lives rest peacefully, and may their families find strength and comfort.” Amen”.

Katcha Tragedy

Over 60 people were hurt in the incident, which happened along the Agaie–Bida road in the state’s Katcha LGA, when an articulated vehicle exploded in the Essa community.

Before the tanker caught fire, many of the victims were attempting to collect fuel from it.

For treatment, the injured were transported to Essa Primary Health Care Center, Idris Private Hospital, and the Federal Medical Center (FMC) in Bida.

The state of the road was the subject of intense ire from the drivers.

Ibrahim Gaawu, a leader in the Essa community, called for the government to immediately halt its efforts after describing the highway as a “death trap.”

42 people were killed and many others were hurt when the tanker exploded right away. Despite the millions of dollars spent on it, this road, which was constructed in 1923 and was last reconstructed ten years ago, is in terrible condition.