A petrol-laden tanker on Sunday fell along the Lambata-Lapai-Agaie Road in Niger State, spilling fuel and sparking panic among residents of the area.
The tanker, which reportedly departed Lagos and was heading to Kano, overturned in the early hours of the day at Takalafiya village in Lapai Local Government Area.
A resident of Lapai, Mallam Mahmud Abubakar, told Daily Post that the accident scene was barely two kilometres from Lapai town.
He noted that the portion of the road where the tanker fell was recently reconstructed under the ongoing NNPCL intervention project but had already started to deteriorate.
Another source, Mohammed Hassan Sonmaji, said the swift response of the fire service unit of the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University (IBBUL) and personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) helped avert a major tragedy.
He added that officials of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Lapai Chapter, also arrived at the scene to help manage the situation.
It was gathered that some of the spilled fuel was recovered into drums to prevent wastage and reduce environmental risk.
When contacted, Dr. Ibrahim Audu Hussaini, Director of Information and Special Duties at the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), said there was no cause for alarm.
He confirmed that the truck did not explode and that firefighting trucks from IBB University were stationed at the site, while security operatives had been deployed to secure the area.