‘We’ll never forget’: Town grieves after deadly Nigeria fuel tanker blast

Majia, Nigeria – Days after a fuel tanker explosion killed 170 mostly young people in Majia, a farming town in northern Nigeria’s Jigawa State, the close-knit community is still reeling from the overwhelming loss.

“It was a terrible situation that we have never witnessed in this town; many people lost their lives,” local businessman Mustapha Abdullahi told Al Jazeera.

“In my family, we lost about 52 people – all blood relatives.”

It was about 11pm on Tuesday when a tanker that was transporting fuel from neighbouring Kano State swerved to avoid an oncoming vehicle, then overturned, according to witnesses.

The petrol started flowing out of the tanker, and passersby and residents rushed over with bottles to collect what had spilled on the ground and through nearby drains.

The driver, who escaped the crash, tried to warn the crowd to leave the area for safety, witnesses said, but most did not listen. Then at about midnight, there was a big explosion, followed by a fire that ripped through the surrounding area.

The flames engulfed the dozens of people who were gathered near the tanker, as well as others who had arrived to try and help them. Authorities and locals said some 100 people died on site, and others later at the hospital.

“Those that were injured are being taken care of in various hospitals across the state and neighbouring state,” Abdullahi said, thankful to those who provided help.

Uzairu Musa Mainama, a local butcher who went out to help after the initial accident, sustained serious burns but survived.

“I was at home when I heard people screaming and calling for help,” he recounted. At first, he stayed home, but said he then thought the injured may need help. “[I thought] that there will be people involved which may need to be rescued. But after reaching the place, in less than three minutes, the fire started.”

Though he could not recall all the details, he remembered being “pushed away from the fire”.

“I quickly got up and removed my burning shirt, I took myself to the clinic and there we were, more than 100 that were injured.”

Some 70 people are still in intensive care in hospitals, police spokesman Lawan Shiisu Adam said on Friday.

‘Very dangerous’

In health facilities in Jigawa and neighbouring states, doctors, nurses and other support staff continue to work to save the lives of critically injured victims.

Residents said almost every family in Majia and adjoining communities has been affected by the tragedy – directly or indirectly.

On Friday, Adam said the death toll had increased to 170 – up from about 150 on Thursday.

Rescue personnel and survivors said the casualty figure could rise, considering that some of the victims sustained third-degree burns with vital organs affected.

In Majia, residents told Al Jazeera 120 people had been buried at a mass gravesite we visited on the outskirts of town, while 50 others were buried elsewhere.

Malam Hamza was among those grieving the loss of several family members.

He said his son Hassan went to the scene of the explosion while people were scooping up petrol, to try and usher them home for their safety. But instead, he was consumed by the fire and ended up losing his life.

“Hassan was indeed a very nice boy. I have never seen him fighting with anyone,” Hamza said.

His son had just obtained a diploma in pharmacy and was working with a clinic in Majia, Hamza added. Hamza’s three other sons, Yusuf, Saidu and Mustapha, also died in the fire. Hamza’s younger brother, Ilyasu Ibrahim, also lost his son, Yahya, while another of his sons, Abbas Ilyasu, was rushed to hospital with severe burns.

A few metres away from Hamza and Ibrahim’s homes, Muhammad Sabitu Haruna was also mourning the death of his son, Sani Sabitu, who ran a business centre in Majia.

Sani left behind two wives and eight children, his father said. Like Hassan Hamza, Sani went to the scene to usher away his younger siblings who were scooping up the fuel.

“He was here after Maghrib [sunset] prayer and when the truck fell, his mother asked him to go and chase his younger ones from the scene,” Haruna said. “But as fate would have it, he died while some of his siblings sustained severe fire burns.”

Most of the victims of the explosion were young people – 16 to 25 year olds – witnesses in the community said, explaining that they were the ones who rushed to the site to gather the spilled fuel.

Malam Ibrahim Lawan Majia, a Quranic school teacher, said five of his pupils died in the incident. “It is a terrible lesson for people not only here in Majia,” he said. “When something like this happens, people should refrain from scooping fuel. It is very dangerous,” he said.

Another resident, Abdullahi Salisu, said he lost his uncle, Tsoho Umar, while two brothers, Habun Salisu and Murtala Ado, sustained burns in the fire.

Poverty and desperation

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Adamu Lawan said he and three other people were sitting by the roadside near the gate of the Adams Science Tahfizul Quran Academy, just 15 metres from the site of the accident, when they saw the truck swerve and overturn on Tuesday night.

“The fuel was emptied into the drainage and people came out en masse to fetch it,” he said, after which the explosion and fire occurred.

Lawan said increased economic hardship was “partially” responsible for people taking risks to gather the spilled fuel. That was not how the town’s people would react to previous fuel truck accidents, he said. “But now people are facing hardship and are finding any possible means of getting relief,” he said.

The tragedy comes at a time of economic crisis in Nigeria, when petrol has become a precious and expensive commodity for many. The price of gasoline has shot up since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu took office last May and withdrew a fuel subsidy, rising from about 175 naira ($0.1) a litre to more than 1,000 naira ($0.6).

At the same time, inflation has stayed above 30 percent for months, reaching an almost three-decade high of 34.19 percent in June before falling slightly to 32.7 percent in September.

According to the World Bank, 56 percent of Nigerians live below the poverty line.

Suleiman Sarki, a lecturer at the Federal University Dutse’s criminology and sociology department, said that poverty exposed many Nigerians to crime and other dangerous acts – like illegal mining, pipeline vandalisation and exploring hazardous materials.

“This act of desperation to get the fuel running on the way can be attributed to the hardship caused by abject poverty,” Sarki said, calling for urgent action to fight high levels of poverty in the country.

Following the incident, President Tinubu said he was committed to a “swift and comprehensive” review of fuel transportation safety protocols across the country, according to a statement on Wednesday. The Nigerian Federal Road Safety Corps also issued a nationwide order for minimum safety standards for fuel tankers before they are allowed on the road, according to spokesman Olusegun Ogungbemide.

Jabir Abdullahi, who works as a watchman at the Adams Science Tahfizul Quran Academy and saw the accident, said he did not think economic hardship played a part in people rushing towards the tanker. Instead, he blamed the scramble among locals to get the petrol that had spilled over on ignorance of the danger involved.

But in Majia, people no longer need any reminder of the perils of going too close to overturned tankers.

“We will never forget this day,” said Lawan. “It will remain in our memories. Even for those that are too young to understand the situation, the story will be passed to them in future.”

Jabir Abdullahi feels similarly. “All over the town there’s not any household and has not lost a person – either a house member or a relative,” he said.

“It will remain in our memory forever and all that witnessed it will be cautioned against going to an accident scene involving a fuel tanker.”