Benin tanker explosion: ‘Boom! Like a gun’, eyewitness tells GistMatrix

Updated 10:30 WAT, 17 Oct 2026: Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo has visited the burnt Oluku market and the injured at UBTH and pledged to rebuild the market; there is still no official death toll.

Updated 10:26 WAT, 16 Oct 2026: The Edo State Police Command says eight people suffered burns and were taken to UBTH, and that the fire started at about 11:50am; no official death toll has been released.

An eyewitness to the Benin tanker explosion has told GistMatrix how he escaped as fire swept through Oluku market, on the Benin-Lagos Expressway in Edo State, on Thursday, 15 October 2026.

Lazarus was on his way to an appointment in Benin when he reached Oluku, where a petrol tanker had fallen on the expressway. In voice notes sent to GistMatrix on Thursday evening, he said people rushed to fetch the fuel spilling from the tanker, but he kept his distance and looked for a way out.

“Now I see, I hear something explode. Boom! Like a gun,” he said in Nigerian Pidgin. “That’s how every area catch fire. For the market, for that area.”

What the eyewitness saw at the Oluku tanker fire

Lazarus said he had called the people he was going to see, could not get through on the phone, and decided to go to their place. That took him along the expressway through Oluku.

As the crowd gathered around the spilled fuel, he said, he did not go beyond where he could safely reach. With traffic held up on the expressway, he had to find his own way out of the area. He had not gone far, he said, when he heard the explosion.

“I don’t go far before I hear explosion,” he said in a second voice note. He said the fire killed “a lot of people” at the market and around it, but he did not give a number. GistMatrix has not been able to confirm any deaths independently.

He reached his destination unhurt. “I thank God, say I find way to reach my destination,” he said.

Video from the scene obtained by GistMatrix shows flames burning through market stalls and vehicles beside the expressway, and a petrol tanker under a column of thick black smoke.

How many people died in the Benin tanker explosion?

No official death toll had been released as of Saturday morning, 17 October. The Edo State Police Command said eight people suffered burns of varying degrees and were taken to the emergency ward of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), where they were receiving treatment, according to a statement by its spokesperson, Eno Ikoedem, reported by Channels Television. The statement, as reported, did not give a death toll.

On Thursday evening, the Edo State sector commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Preye Ezekiel Bedford, said no deaths had been officially recorded and that 10 casualties had been reported to the corps.

On Friday, Governor Monday Okpebholo said the President’s wife, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, had expressed sympathy with the victims and the families of those who lost their lives, according to a statement from his Chief Press Secretary, Patrick Ebojele. The statement, as reported, did not say how many people died.

Lazarus told GistMatrix that people died in the fire. No official source had given a number of deaths by Saturday morning.

How did the Oluku tanker explosion happen?

The tanker fell near Oluku Market at about 7:30am on Thursday, the Edo State Police Command said, and residents gathered to scoop the petrol that spilled onto the road and into the drains beside shops. A fire started at about 11:50am and engulfed the truck, damaging parts of the market, the command said, according to Channels Television. The flames spread to nearby shops and to vehicles parked along the road. Two buses, a car and a truck were among the vehicles destroyed, Channels Television reported.

Bedford said some residents ignored warnings from security officials and attacked military, road safety and fire service personnel who tried to stop them. The police, the military, the Federal Fire Service and the Edo State Fire Service were still at the scene into the evening, putting out what remained of the fire and clearing debris, he said.

Why do people scoop fuel from fallen tankers in Nigeria?

Bedford called the practice “unbecoming” and said the FRSC would keep up public education, including at town hall meetings and in churches. The police command also warned people against scooping petroleum products from fallen tankers, Channels Television reported.

The danger is well known. On 15 October 2024, exactly two years before the Oluku fire, a tanker exploded at Majiya in Jigawa State as villagers collected spilled petrol; an official inquiry later put the death toll at 209. In January 2025, at least 86 people died in a similar explosion at Dikko junction in Niger State.

What has the Edo State Government said?

Governor Okpebholo inspected the burnt market on Friday, 16 October, and promised to rebuild it and to support the traders who lost their shops and goods, according to the statement from his office. The statement did not give a cost or a timetable.

The governor said the disaster could have been avoided. “Before the explosion, people were scooping fuel,” he said. He also blamed the tanker’s owner for bringing a second tanker to move the fuel without the necessary safety precautions. “The owner of the affected tanker also brought another tanker to evacuate the fuel, which is very wrong. If this had not happened, there would not have been any fire incident,” he said.

He then visited the burns and plastic ward of the Accident and Emergency Department at UBTH, where some of the injured are being treated. The hospital’s Chief Medical Director, Professor Idia Ize-Iyamu, took him round, with the Deputy Governor, Dennis Idahosa, the former governor Adams Oshiomhole and Senator Matthew Urhoghide.

At the market, its secretary, Blessing Itoje, asked the governor for help. “We couldn’t even pick anything; everything burnt to ashes,” she said, adding that some traders had been taken to hospital in shock and that some were on oxygen.

What happens next after the Oluku fire?

Governor Okpebholo has promised to rebuild Oluku market and help traders recover their livelihoods, but his office’s statement did not say how much the state will spend or when work will start. As of Saturday morning, 17 October, the police, the FRSC, UBTH and the Edo State Government had not released a confirmed death toll. Anyone looking for a relative who was at Oluku can check with UBTH, where the injured were taken. GistMatrix will update this story as official figures come in. Follow the latest on our Nigeria news page.

Were you a trader at Oluku market, or at the scene on Thursday? Tell GistMatrix what happened and what help you need.

Benin tanker explosion: quick answers

Where is Oluku?

Oluku is a community on the Benin-Lagos Expressway, on the edge of Benin City, in Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State.

When did the tanker explosion happen?

The tanker fell at about 7:30am on Thursday, 15 October 2026, and the fire started at about 11:50am, according to the Edo State Police Command.

How many people died?

There was no official death toll by Saturday morning, 17 October. The police said eight people suffered burns and were taken to UBTH, and the FRSC said on Thursday that no deaths had been recorded. A statement from the Edo State Governor’s office on Friday referred to the families of those who lost their lives but gave no number. An eyewitness told GistMatrix that people died.

Where were the injured taken?

To the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) in Benin City.

Will Oluku market be rebuilt?

Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo promised on Friday, 16 October, to rebuild the market and support the traders who lost their shops and goods. His office did not give a cost or a date.

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