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| Oluku in Edo State |
On the busy Benin-Lagos Expressway at Oluku in Ovia North-East Local Government Area of Edo State, a petrol tanker overturned in the early hours of Thursday, October 15, 2026, spilling its highly flammable contents near the popular Oluku Market (also referred to in some reports as Bob Izua Market, associated with businessman Chief Osamede Adun).
What began as a traffic mishap quickly escalated into a dangerous free-for-all of fuel scooping by residents and passers-by, followed by a devastating explosion and fire that engulfed shops, vehicles, and parts of the market area.
By evening, emergency responders were still on site battling residual flames and clearing debris. Yet the human cost remained mired in conflicting reports—a familiar pattern in Nigeria’s frequent tanker disasters.
Some local accounts and early media reports claimed between two and five deaths, including a soldier in certain versions, with bodies reportedly taken to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) mortuary. Other witnesses spoke of people burnt beyond recognition. Official word from the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), however, was more cautious.
Edo State Sector Commander Preye Ezekiel Bedford, who visited the scene, stated that no deaths had been officially recorded at the time of his assessment late on Thursday. “Well, for now we’ve not gotten any information on that, and I think while they’re still doing that during the clearing of – evacuating of the debris, we might get – if it is true, we might get to know about it,” he said when confronted with claims of fatalities. He confirmed about 10 casualties had been reported and rushed for treatment.
Multiple independent reports aligned on the hospital figure: around 10 to 11 people with severe burns were taken to UBTH, where Chief Medical Director Professor Idia Ize-Iyamu led emergency teams from the accident, emergency, and burns units. Some accounts mentioned pregnant women among the injured and a military officer who sustained burns while trying to help or warn people away.
Eyewitnesses described fuel flowing into drainage channels beneath market shops, which then became conduits for the blaze once ignition occurred around 1 p.m., hours after the initial spill (reported variously between about 4 a.m. and 7:45 a.m.).
One survivor who had been scooping fuel recounted a narrow escape: a soldier warned him about the sunny conditions and the risk of ignition from the crowd’s activity. “As I looked back after he spoke to me, the tanker burst into flames as people around the area ran for their lives. I thank the soldier; if not, I would have been burnt by now,” the man said. He added that two men from northern Nigeria who were directly under the tanker were among those severely affected. Shops built over the drainages and several vehicles were destroyed, with traders later seen wailing over lost goods estimated in the millions of naira. Local government officials, including the Ovia North-East chairman, visited to assess the damage.
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Bedford expressed gratitude to the soldiers, police, and both Federal and Edo State Fire Service personnel who remained at the scene into the evening. “I got to the scene, I saw the situation… Up till now the military, fire service… are still working there… still trying to put out the little part of the fire that is remaining,” he noted. Yet he also highlighted a disturbing element: even with security present, some people resisted efforts to clear the area and attacked responders. “The habit of trying to scoop fuel is unbecoming,” Bedford said. “Today’s own, even with the presence of the soldiers and all the rest, they were driving them, when you drive some of them, some would turn around, and they were equally even attacking the military people, attacking all the personnel… The road safety and all the rest, fire service they were equally attacking them.” He stressed the need for continued public enlightenment through town halls, meetings, churches, and other community platforms.
This incident is far from isolated. Nigeria has a long, tragic record of tanker and pipeline explosions amplified by the widespread practice of scooping spilled petroleum products—driven by economic hardship, fuel scarcity perceptions, and the lure of “free” fuel. Historical data paints a grim picture.
Between 2009 and 2024, one analysis documented 169 petroleum tanker fire and explosion cases resulting in over 1,600 deaths, with scooping frequently cited as a major aggravating factor that multiplies casualties. Broader reviews covering longer periods or slightly different windows put cumulative deaths from tanker-related fires in the thousands. In the five years leading into 2025 alone, FRSC data indicated hundreds of deaths from such explosions, with scooping repeatedly identified as a key driver of the death toll. Major past tragedies include the 1998 Jesse pipeline disaster in Delta State (over 1,000 dead), multiple pipeline fires in Lagos and elsewhere claiming hundreds, and more recent tanker blasts in states like Jigawa, Niger, Benue, and Cross River that killed dozens to over a hundred each.
The underlying drivers are structural: aging tanker fleets, poor road conditions on key corridors like the Benin-Lagos route, inadequate enforcement of safety standards for drivers and vehicles, delayed emergency response in some cases (early social media posts from Oluku complained of slow fire service arrival), and deep poverty that makes the short-term gain of scooped fuel outweigh the known lethal risks for many. Petrol is particularly dangerous because of its volatility; vapours can ignite from a spark, a cigarette, a vehicle exhaust, or even static in hot weather. Once shops and drainages are involved, as at Oluku, the fire spreads rapidly through densely packed informal commercial areas common along Nigerian highways.
Official responses typically follow a pattern of condemnation, calls for enlightenment, and temporary increased security presence—yet the cycle continues. Bedford’s emphasis on community engagement reflects ongoing FRSC and government efforts, but critics argue that stronger measures are needed: stricter vehicle inspections, better driver training and rest regulations, improved road infrastructure, faster secure-and-clear protocols that minimise public access to spill sites, and sustained economic interventions that reduce the desperation fuelling the scooping habit. Some analysts also point to the need for better coordination among FRSC, police, military, fire services, and local authorities, plus transparent, real-time casualty reporting to reduce the confusion that often surrounds these events.
As debris clearing continues at Oluku and the injured receive treatment at UBTH, the final official toll may yet shift. What is already clear is the human and economic cost to traders whose livelihoods went up in smoke, to families of the injured (and any confirmed dead), and to a nation that has seen this script play out too many times. The FRSC commander’s insistence on no confirmed deaths so far offers a note of relative restraint amid earlier higher claims, but the broader lesson remains urgent: until the twin problems of tanker safety and the cultural-economic practice of fuel scooping are addressed more effectively, busy junctions like Oluku will remain potential flashpoints for preventable tragedy.
Further updates from hospital authorities, the Edo State government, and FRSC are expected as the investigation and recovery efforts progress.
Samuel O. Sulaimon is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Naijapiz. He covers News, Sports, Finance, Faiths, Education, Politics and Technology.
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