Senate Orders Probe Of Lagos Tanker Explosion

The Senate has ordered the Nigeria Police and the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC to investigate the circumstances surrounding the explosion of a fully loaded tanker in Lagos.

Recall that last Thursday, a tanker laden with premium motor spirit, popularly known as petrol (33,000 litres), exploded on the Otedola Bridge end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, killing 12 persons and burning 54 vehicles.

The decision to probe the incident followed a motion by Senator Gbenga Ashafa (Lagos-East), in conjunction with senators Oluremi Tinubu (Lagos-Central) and Solomon Adeola (Lagos-West) at Wednesday’s plenary.

The Senate will also meet with the FRSC and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC to seek amendment of extant laws needed to check accidents on the highways.

Granting prayers of the motion, the lawmakers resolved to “urge the FRSC, the Nigeria Police and all relevant security agencies to cooperate with Lagos State and other states in ensuring that drivers of articulated vehicles comply with all federal and state traffic safety laws.

“We urge the Nigeria Police to work in conjunction with the FRSC to carry out a thorough investigation of the circumstances leading to the accident that led to the fuel tanker fire, with the view to prosecuting anyone found culpable in this preventable fire incident.

“The relevant committees of the Senate should invite the FRSC and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation with a view to finding a legislative solution towards ensuring that, before trucks are loaded, mandatory safety checks are put in place to ascertain the condition of the tankers and the road worthiness of the vehicles.”