411 people died in 2024 while collecting fuel from downed tankers around the country, according to the Road Safety Corps (FRSC).
The FRSC corps marshal, Shehu Mohammed, made this statement to commemorate the end of Monday’s “Operation Zero Tolerance” special patrol campaign in Abuja.
According to Mr. Mohammed, the hazardous practice of collecting fuel from downed tankers was the main cause of the high death toll in the nation.
It is important to note at this point that 411 deaths, or 7.6% of all deaths in 2024, were not primarily caused by crashes but rather by a secondary factor—the very monster we are fighting today—the scooping of fuel from downed tankers, he said.
A fuel tanker explosion in Niger State last week claimed the lives of at least 98 people as they gathered to pick up fuel that had spilled on the road.
Mr. Mohammed did disclose, however, that 5,421 persons died in traffic accidents across the country in 2024, a 7% rise from the 5,081 fatalities that occurred in 2023.
9,570 traffic accidents were reported nationwide between January 1 and December 31, 2024, he explained.
Additionally, there was a 2% decline in injuries in 2024 compared to 2023, with 31,154 injuries and 31,874 injuries, respectively.
“There was a 7% increase in fatalities, though, with 5,421 people killed in 2024 compared to 5,081 in 2023,” Mr. Mohammed stated.
The corps marshal determined that the main crashes took place in Plateau, Abia, Kaduna, Kwara, and Ondo States. The most catastrophic of these occurred in Jebba, Kwara State, where thirty persons lost their lives.
Despite a 10% decrease in the overall number of traffic accidents countrywide, with 9,570 occurrences reported in 2024 compared to 10,617 in 2023, he said, the increase in fatalities nevertheless happened.
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But he ascribed the rise in fatalities to human causes including careless driving, overloading, and exhaustion.
“When compared to the annual record of 2023, the corps recorded a drastic reduction in road traffic crashes and the number of people injured from January to December 2024,” Mr. Mohammed remarked, citing an analysis of our annual performance.
