A devastating petrol tanker explosion in Niger State has claimed 42 lives and injured more than 60 others, igniting public outrage over the dilapidated Bida-Badeggi-Agaie highway, which residents say has become a death trap.

The blast occurred around midday Tuesday in Essa village, Katcha district, when a Lagos-bound tanker overturned on the pothole-ridden stretch and began leaking fuel. Eyewitnesses said the spill drew dozens of locals with buckets and jerrycans. Moments later, the vehicle erupted in flames.

“People rushed with jerrycans to scoop fuel. The driver got angry, set it ablaze, and it exploded,” said Surajo Mohammed, who witnessed the tragedy.

According to Hussaini Isah, head of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) for Niger and Kwara states, the confirmed death toll includes nine men, 24 women, and nine children. Over 60 others were injured, many suffering severe burns while attempting to siphon fuel. Rescue teams continued combing the site into Wednesday as families searched for missing loved ones.

Community elder Ibrahim Gaawu described the highway—built in 1923 and largely neglected since—as a “death trap,” accusing successive governments of ignoring its deterioration despite repeated budget allocations. “This highway hauls petrol from the south—its ruts kill drivers and tempt the desperate,” he said, urging President Bola Tinubu to intervene.

NEMA attributed the accident to the road’s “deteriorated state.” Victims were rushed to Essa Primary Health Centre, Idris Private Hospital, and the Federal Medical Centre in Bida. Emergency responders, including police, DSS, NSCDC, FRSC, and volunteers, secured the area and buried 28 victims by nightfall.

Niger State Emergency Management Authority Director-General Abdullahi Baba Arah placed the injury count at 52 and echoed calls for urgent road rehabilitation.

Federal Information Minister Mohammed Idris mourned the “painful loss” and warned against fuel scavenging, directing NEMA to provide relief and the National Orientation Agency to launch awareness campaigns. The Northern Governors’ Forum condemned the tragedy, while opposition leaders Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi blamed infrastructure decay and poverty for the recurring carnage.

“This marks yet another chapter in Nigeria’s grim history of tanker disasters,” said one emergency official. The Bida-Badeggi-Agaie corridor, vital for fuel transport to the north, has witnessed multiple fatal incidents, prompting renewed scrutiny of road maintenance budgets and safety enforcement.

As survivors recover and burials continue, the explosion has reignited debate over Nigeria’s crumbling infrastructure and the human cost of neglect.