By Pascal Ibe
Claim
An X user, @PO_GrassRootM shared two images of burnt vehicles and claimed the explosion occurred after the driver converted the vehicle from petrol consumption to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).
Verdict
This is MISLEADING.
The incident happened on October 24(Thursday) after the vehicle rammed into a construction/road maintenance site and then caught fire, according to the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).
Full Text
Despite assurance by the Nigerian government, Nigerians have continued to doubt the safety of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles.
In May, the Federal Government commenced the rollout of Compressed Natural Gas-powered buses and tricycles beginning from Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.
On April 21, 2024, it was reported that the Presidency said it was ready to launch about 2,700 CNG-powered buses and tricycles before May 29, 2024, when President Bola Tinubu turns one year in office.
The report stated that the Federal Government was set to deliver 100 conversion workshops and 60 refueling sites spread across 18 states before the end of 2024.
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, revealed this in a statement he signed titled ‘Presidential CNG initiative set for rollout.’
A CNG vehicle explosion in Benin, Edo State recently, sent fresh fears in the minds of many Nigerians.
As a result of this, an X user, @PO_GrassRootM posted photos of a razed vehicle and claimed it was after the driver converted the vehicle from petrol consumption to CNG.
The user wrote, “BREAKING: Passengers in this 18 sitter bus were reportedly burnt beyond recognition.”
“The driver was reported to have converted his car from petrol consumption to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).”
Many people who came across this post expressed worries and vowed never to have any dealings with a CNG vehicle. Some others believed that the story attached to the images was true.
The post garnered over 65k views, more than 400 reposts, and 696 likes as of Saturday evening.
Verification
First, the photos were subjected to a Google image reverse search, result showed that the incident happened in Ebonyi on Thursday (24 October).
This Fact Checker found out that the photos shared by the X user were published on the LindaIkeji blog.
This Fact Checker also discovered that some persons on Thread and Instagram shared these photos.
A report by a credible news organization, Premium Times, confirmed that the vehicle got burnt after the vehicle rammed into a construction/road maintenance site and then caught fire.
The report stated that at least five people on Friday died in Ebonyi State, south-east Nigeria, as a bus filled with passengers caught fire.
It was gathered that the incident happened in Abakaliki, capital of Ebonyi State, along the Abakaliki-Enugu Expressway, near the G-hostel junction.
It was not immediately clear where the bus came from into the city.
Sources said the bus came into the state around 20 minutes past midnight when it caught fire.
The police spokesperson in Ebonyi, Joshua Ụkandu, confirmed the incident.
He said the vehicle ran into some obstacles on the road placed by a maintenance team renovating some bad sections of the road, and then it caught fire.
According to Channels TV, Ebonyi FRSC Sector Commander Igwe Henry said that the fully loaded bus with about 16 persons crashed and busted into flames after encountering an obstacle on the road in the middle of the night.
“It happened at night; we were not the first responders; others came before we came. But the vehicle actually rammed into a construction/road maintenance site, and then caught fire, resulting in the casualty figures we have,” he said.
He said that five persons were burnt to death, while nine others were severely injured with various degrees of burns and have been taken to Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki for medical treatment.
“The vehicle had 16 passengers, and 9 were injured, 7 females and 2 males, and 5 killed, 2 male adults and 3 female adults. Both the dead and injured have been taken to the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki,” Igwe stated.
Check this similar story here and here.
Conclusion
The X user shared images of a burnt vehicle in Ebonyi State to mislead people it was a CNG explosion.