Gov. Umaru Bago of Niger has banned heavy-duty trucks from plying one way through Dikko bridge, following a tanker explosion that claimed many lives on Saturday – yesterday, January 18.
A similar incident had occurred on Lapai-Agaie road in Minner in September last year killing 48 people.
The Governor gave the directive during a visit to the scene of the explosion at Dikko junction in Suleja Local Government Area of the state.
He described the incident as pathetic, expressing sadness at the loss of lives.
Expressing relief that the disaster did not extend to adjoining communities in the area, Bago decried the recklessness of some drivers that often results in such tragic incidents as happened yesterday, directing that vehicles coming from the Maje axis should not pass through Dikko Bridge any longer.
The vehicles should, instead, follow the route under the bridge and take a U-turn, he directed, calling on the sector commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) to establish a detachment in the area to enforce the directive.
He also urged transport unions to cooperate with the FRSC.
Bago attributed the frequent accidents in the area to the delay in completing the Minna-Suleja road project and called on the federal government to expedite action on the project.
Commending the state Emergency Management Agency, Fire Service, FRSC and the National Union of Road Transport Workers for their roles in evacuating victims of the explosion, the Niger Governor disclosed that doctors from Minna hospitals would be redeployed to assist in treating the injured victims currently receiving treatment at Suleja General Hospital.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that more than 50 people lost their lives in the Saturday morning incident caused by scooping of fuel from the articulated vehicle.
