By Pascal Ibe
Introduction
When a truck/tanker carrying petrol fails on a busy road, it is expected that the first step for the nearby residents and passersby to take is to move away from the place of the incident, but for an average Nigerian, this is an opportunity.
On many occasions, many residents had come with jerrycans and buckets to scoop fuel, diesel or Kerosene spilling out from a fallen truck.
This act, often blamed on poverty and ignorance, has led to the death of many in recent years.
In October 2024, the Jigawa State Police Command confirmed the tragic death of 105 people, with 55 others seriously injured, following a fuel tanker explosion at Majiya in Taura Local Council.
The incident occurred while locals were scooping petrol from a fallen tanker.
Till this moment the act seems not to have ended.
Claim
A video which claims to show Lagos residents scooping diesel from a fallen tanker has been trending on the Nigerian social media space.
From the X platform to Facebook and then to Instagram, users and pages posted the video alongside the claim that it was a recent incident.
A blog page, @NigeriaStories, which published the video on 20 August, captioned it “Lagos State Residents Scoop Diesel from Fallen Tanker Amid Warnings”
Many comments from X users indicated that many people believe that this incident occurred recently.
A Facebook page, Gistlover, posted screenshots from the clip and wrote, “Lagos residents with nine lives spotted scooping diesel from a fallen tanker.
One spark and this could turn into a major disaster. ”
This video was also posted here and here recently.
Verifying the video
First, key frames from the clip were subjected to the Image Reverse Search website, and the results showed that the video first appeared online in October 2023.
However, we found out that most social media pages that shared the video then, were not from Nigeria.
For instance, @pmcafrica, a South African account on X, posted the video on 15 October 2023 but did not give details on where the clip came from.
A Tanzanian account on X also posted the video during the same period but also did not give details.
To find out clear details of the video, in a deeper search, FACTWATCH Nigeria did a keyword search on Google with the date when the video appeared online.
The keyword search led us to reports by Channels Television on 12th October of that year. We saw the exact screenshots from the video in the publication.
According to Channels, three passengers were rescued in Lagos from the scene of a falling tanker on Otedola Bridge, Berger area of the state.
The report stated that the fuel-laden tanker overturned and trapped a 14-seater bus belonging to a company that conveyed the passengers.
The situation forced residents of the area to scoop fuel, notwithstanding the huge risk associated with the act.
FACTWATCH Nigeria found a longer clip of the incident, which was shared by Channels at the time.
The location, movement of passersby and the fallen tanker in the clip were the same as those in the one that surfaced recently.
Other credible Nigerian news organisations reported the incident here and here.
Verdict
Findings have shown that the video of residents scooping diesel was filmed in October 2023. Therefore, recirculating it as a recent incident is MISLEADING.
