A petrol tanker accident in Jaji, Kaduna State, on Friday morning caused a major traffic jam along the Kaduna–Zaria highway after it spilled its contents on the road.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), in a statement on Saturday, confirmed the incident, which occurred on October 31, 2025.
The agency attributed the crash to the impatience of the tanker driver.
According to NEMA, its Kaduna Operations Office, led by Mallam Suleiman Muhammad, immediately activated an emergency response team after receiving the alert.
The Search and Rescue Unit arrived at the scene to join officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), who had already begun rescue operations.
The Kaduna Sector Commander of the FRSC, Tijjani Iliyasu, supervised the safe evacuation of the tanker’s contents into another vehicle provided for the operation, a move NEMA said helped avert what could have been a major disaster.
The crash led to heavy traffic on both lanes of the highway, forcing authorities to divert vehicles through Amana, Mai Madaci, and Turunku communities.
“NEMA, FRSC, security agencies, and other stakeholders worked together to ensure public safety and ease traffic congestion,” the agency said, urging motorists to remain patient and obey traffic instructions as normal movement gradually resumed.
The incident occurred barely two weeks after a petrol tanker explosion in Niger State killed 45 people and injured several others in Essa community, Katcha Local Government Area.
