The Nigerian Institution of Safety Engineers (NiSafetyE) has announced that it will continue lobbying the National Assembly and the 36 state Houses of Assembly to introduce a law to prevent recurring tanker accidents across the country.

As a subsidiary of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), NiSafetyE has raised the alarm over poor safety practices in tanker operations in the country and has attributed repeated incidents to weak legislation.

Comments regarding the issue were made during a visit by the fifth national chairman of NiSafetyE to Port Harcourt on February 21, which saw the new chairman, Andrew Monday Abanum, announce that he would intensify awareness campaigns to “educate tanker drivers on the need to consider safety as a top priority in their chosen job of conveying petroleum products from one point to another,” according to Vanguard.

Abanum continued to note that whenever a loaded tanker was involved in an accident, the product tended to spill, resulting in “devastation [that] is usually too massive as people at the scene of the accident get burnt and property worth millions of naira is destroyed in the process”.

The official underscored that NiSafetyE’s campaign would be extended to ensure tankers on the road were of a quality standard, and that drivers were “certified to be of good mental health”. He added that the government should be responsible for ensuring that roads were in good shape and devoid of potholes.

On the same weekend as the announcement, a tanker with failed brakes killed one and injured four others in a crash in Lagos, according to Punch. Another incident involving a tanker crash took place only a week before, killing 11, a report from Ogunupdate notes. Out of numerous other accidents, October 2025 witnessed a particularly deadly one – with an explosion from a tanker resulting in the death of 35 people, Firstpost reported.

With so many incidents taking place, Abanum’s reasoning is clear. “This is why in my two years as the national chairman of NiSafetyE, we will lobby the National Assembly and the 36 states’ Assembly to make legislation that will empower our organisation and other safety bodies to check the excesses of some disgruntled elements who flout safety orders and instructions,” he affirmed.