The petrol tanker explosion in Essa community, Katcha Local Government Area of Niger State, which has claimed 42 lives, with over 60 others injured was caused by bad road, residents and witnesses said.
The 42 deceased persons included nine males, 24 females, and nine children with many of them among those scooping petrol from the fallen tanker.
That section of the road is bad and this caused the tanker to trip over spilling petrol all over the place, a witness narrated.
The incident occurred on Tuesday, October 21, 2025, when the tanker overturned spilling its content. The explosion was said to have occurred as more and more people rushed to the scene to scoop petrol.
Residents said that the poor condition of the Bida–Badeggi–Agaie Road was the chief cause of the incident. They said the road had been decrepit for a long time, even as they appealed to both federal and state governments to fix the road.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), said that the tanker lost control between 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon due to the bad state of the road. The tanker overturned and exploded shortly after tripping over.
The injured were taken to Essa Primary Health Care Centre, Idris Private Hospital, and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) in Bida.
The road was an old road built in 1923 and was said to have been last reconstructed decades ago.
