On October 15, a petrol tanker exploded and produced a four-hour-long inferno in Majiya, Taura Local Government Area (LGA) of Jigawa State.

The last official report on Sunday pegged the death toll at 180, according to Tribune. Earlier, The Punch reported that 153 people had died in the fire. They were scooping fuel from the fallen tanker when the highly inflammable liquid caught fire.

Following the tragic incident, a video showing people collecting fuel from a fallen tanker began circulating on social media and micro-blogs. Some claimed it was recorded minutes before the Jigawa explosion, while others shared the video without context, leading viewers to assume the video was recent.

For instance, a Japanese X account, @Panamabunsyo, posted the video on Thursday alongside others and captioned it with news of the Jigawa explosion. The caption, written in Kanji, was translated via Google as:

Mass deaths among Africans pumping gasoline. A tanker truck explosion kills 147; Nigerians rush to collect fuel: Video ① Residents gathering gasoline. Video ② People swimming in a pool of gasoline. Video ③ Gasoline explodes and bursts into flames. At least 147 people were killed in Jigawa State, northern Nigeria, on the 15th, when a tanker truck overturned and exploded, killing residents who rushed to collect the leaked fuel despite police efforts to stop them.

READ MORE: Jigawa Tanker Explosion Death Toll Hits 105

This post was viewed by over 92,000 people, according to X analytics. Similarly, accounts like @lasillarota from Mexico shared the video with captions linking it to the Jigawa explosion on Wednesday.

FM Korea, an Asian news aggregator, also posted the video on Thursday, linking it to the Jigawa incident. Microblogging accounts such as X Stories on X and Remedy Blog on Instagram followed suit on Tuesday, sharing the video with captions suggesting it was recently recorded, further confusing social media users.

Video of some Nigerians shunning their safety to scoop fuel from a fallen tanker. Two seconds here these people fit become suya including the cameraman😭😭 pic.twitter.com/1w06Sxq5d1— X-Daily (@X_Dailly) October 22, 2024

Both blogs captioned the clip: “Video of Nigerians risking their lives to scoop fuel from a fallen tanker. In two seconds, these people could turn into suya, including the cameraman.”

Due to the video’s quality and the environment in which it was filmed, EQ decided to verify its origin and its timeline.

VERIFICATION: To verify the video’s location and recency, EQ conducted a frame-by-frame analysis.

At around the 5-second mark, a yellow “danfo” bus typically found in Lagos and some parts of Ogun State is seen driving by. In a longer version published by FM Korea, a blue bus resembling a Lagos BRT bus is also visible near the scene. Additionally, a white public transport bus is stuck at the edge of the fallen fuel tanker.

EQ then conducted a reverse image search and found the exact video posted on X in early October 2023. @pmcafrica, a South African account, had posted the clip with the caption “risky business”.

Further investigation revealed that the video was not recorded in Jigawa but at the site of a tanker accident on Otedola Bridge in Lagos, as confirmed by a Business Day report. According to that report, the incident involved a 33,000-litre petrol tanker that lost control and crashed, colliding with a 14-seater bus.

Fortunately, no casualties were recorded as passengers were rescued unharmed. The tanker did not explode.

Channels Television also covered the event, reporting that the Lagos State Fire Service quickly responded and prevented the situation from escalating. Both sources confirmed that there were no fire-related casualties at the scene.

READ ALSO: FACT CHECK: Video Showing Special Squad Deployment to Fight Bello Turji Is Old

CONCLUSION: The viral video was recorded in October 2023 after a tanker accident on Otedola Bridge, Lagos, not in Jigawa. The tanker seen in the video did not explode, and no fatalities were reported.

Claims that the video was taken just before the tragic Jigawa explosion are false. Likewise, suggestions that it was recorded recently in Jigawa are false.

VERDICT: The claims that the video was recorded in Jigawa or shortly before the explosion are false. The video is neither recent nor connected to the Jigawa incident.
The post Viral Video Linked to Recent Tanker Explosion Old, From Lagos appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.