•Tanker explosion
The death toll in Saturday tanker explosion in Niger State has risen to 98.
Recall that the tanker explosion occurred around Dikko junction in Gurara Local Government Area, reports The Nation.
The Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) confirmed that 98 people died in the fire that emanated from the explosion.
Giving a breakdown of the deaths and the injured, the agency’s Director General, Abdullahi Baba Arah, said the death count as at 12 p.m yesterday stood at 98 while those injured were 69.
He said the fire razed 20 shops, destroying goods and properties worth millions of naira.
Also, 10 more patients who suffered severe burns have been confirmed dead.
Seven of the patients were said to have died at the General Hospital in Suleja while three others died at the General Hospital at Sabon-Wuse.
The Special Adviser to the Niger State Governor on Digital Communications, Abdulberqy Ebbo, announced this on his social media page.
According to him, at the General Hospital in Suleja, out of the 43 patients admitted there, seven have died, three were discharged to recuperate at homes, 10 others were referred for specialist care in Abuja, while the remaining 23 are still receiving treatments with varying degree of burns.
Ebbo said out of the 23 patients that were initially admitted at the General Hospital at Sabon-Wuse, three had died, relatives of 19 patients signed a consent form for them to be discharged against medical advice, and one patient currently in a critical condition is awaiting transfer to Gwagwalada Specialist Hospital in Abuja.
The governor’s aide said an 18-man multi-disciplinary medical team from the state’s Ministry of Health, led by the Commissioner of Secondary and Tertiary Healthcare, Dr. Tukur Bello, the Special Adviser on Health, Dr. Shehu Ahmed, and the Special Adviser on Special Duties, Dr. Murtala Bagana, were on hand to provide urgent medical relief to the fire victims.
He added that following the assessment of current conditions of the patients, it was agreed that they would require intensive care, the reason some of them were referred to tertiary healthcare facilities in Abuja.
Niger state Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago had directed that free medical services and sufficient health workers be deployed to all the sites where the tanker fire patients are being treated.
Also, the Niger State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has expressed sadness over the high number of casualties and those injured in the tanker explosion.
In a statement, the state CAN Chairman, Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, assured the governor that the Christian community was in solidarity with him in these difficult times.
Also, 20 victims of the tanker explosion have been admitted for treatment at the Gwagwalada Specialist Hospital in Abuja.
This followed the directive of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that the explosion victims be given swift transfers to tertiary medical centres for enhanced medical care.
A statement yesterday in Abuja by the media aide to the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr. Rabiu Ibrahim, confirmed the development.
The statement also confirmed that two other victims were transferred to the Federal Medical Centre at Jabi in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The statement assured Nigerians that the ministry would continue to monitor the situations and update the public.
The Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) has called for an urgent action to prevent the recurrence of the explosion of tankers conveying petroleum products across Nigeria.
In a statement in Kaduna by its Secretary General, Prof. Khalid Aliyu, JNI said: “The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, has received the sad news of unfortunate tanker explosion at Dikko Junction in Niger State with utmost concern and shock.
“It is so unfortunate that tankers conveying petroleum products are now sources of disastrous road accidents, with agonising loss of lives and property in Nigeria.
“The Dikko junction incident is too many a tragedy to be waived, taking into account that the junction is on a major highway connecting Northern Nigeria, particularly the North-West to Southern Nigeria.
“More so, same episodes had occurred in the most recent past in Jigawa State twice.”
Also, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday mourned the victims of the Niger State tanker explosion.
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, the main opposition urged the federal government to put in safety measures to prevent a reoccurrence of the tragic incident on Nigeria roads.
“The federal government should take steps to put adequate measures to ensure safer roads to prevent the reoccurrence of such tragic incidents in the country.
“The PDP, however, commends the efforts and courage of the police, firefighters, the Federal Road Safety Corps and other agencies and patriotic Nigerians who helped to control the fire and rescued some of the victims.
“The PDP commiserates with the families of the victims, the Government and people of Niger State and prays to God to grant speedy recovery to the injured and fortitude to the families of the deceased at this trying time,” the statement said.
Also, the apex northern sociocultural group, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), has expressed sadness over the tanker explosion.
In a statement yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Prof. Tukur Muhammad-Baba, the forum commiserated with families of the victims.
“It is indeed tempting to partly attribute the mad rush for the contents of the tanker to the high price that petroleum products command.
“However, the reality is that such crass looting of accidented vehicles is not a new phenomenon and signals the decline of edifying cultural values which ordinarily dictate the principle of “Safety First, Always!
“In the rush for fast but ephemeral gains, people tend to compromise personal and community safety, let go of humanness and abdicate responsibilities for extending assistance to of any fellow humans in distress, with tragic but avoidable consequences, as gorily witnessed at Diko.
“ACF commiserates with members of Dikko community, the Zazzau-Suleja Emirate, as well as the Government and people of Niger State over the tragedy. ACF deeply mourns, as it prays for divine succour to all those affected and for quick recovery from the impact of the incident.”
