By Ola ‘Kiya, Reporting
THE Director General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, has issued a blistering condemnation of the “dangerous, irresponsible, and utterly condemnable” act of scooping fuel from overturned tankers.
His comments follow a major incident on Monday, 20th January, at Liverpool Bridge in Lagos’s Apapa area.
In a statement signed by the agency’s Director of Communication and Media, Balance Musa, Issa-Onilu branded the practice “completely unacceptable in a modern society,” posing an “extreme and avoidable” threat to lives, public safety, and infrastructure.
He warned the collateral risk to motorists, communities, and emergency services is immense.
Despite years of nationwide public awareness campaigns by the NOA, Issa-Onilu lamented that some individuals persist in the “undesirable and life-threatening” behaviour.
“This cannot be justified under any circumstances,” he stated forcefully. “This is not poverty. Poverty does not take away the sense in people’s heads, nor does it eliminate judgement or the instinct for self-preservation. What we are witnessing is a conscious, reckless, and criminal disregard for human life.”
He pointed to Nigeria’s tragic history of fatal explosions and infernos stemming from such incidents, which have claimed hundreds of lives, as a “painful reminder” that this preventable menace persists.
Consequently, the Director General has urgently called upon the National Assembly to draft and pass comprehensive legislation expressly criminalising fuel scooping from accident sites, with “firm, clear, and deterrent penalties.”
He argued that public enlightenment must now be backed by a robust legal and enforcement framework to decisively end the “deadly behaviour.”
Issa-Onilu stressed this trend must be halted, urging the public to collectively reject actions that lead to “mass casualties, national trauma, and avoidable loss.”
Reaffirming the NOA’s commitment to intensified safety advocacy, he concluded: “Human life is sacred and priceless. No situation, no excuse, and no momentary gain should justify conduct that places lives in imminent danger.”
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