The University of Abuja Teaching Hospital has revealed that N112 million will be spent on the treatment of 16 victims of the recent fuel tanker explosion in Niger State within one week.
The Chief Medical Director, Prof. Bissallah Ahmed Ekele, confirmed the hospital’s involvement following directives from the Coordinating Minister for Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate.
The CMD, who spoke when our correspondent visited the hospital on Tuesday, said that the hospital, alongside other tertiary institutions, dispatched ambulances to assist in managing the emergency.
He said, “It is true that we have some of the victims. On Sunday, at about 3 p.m., the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Ali Pate, gave directives to the public tertiary hospitals in Abuja. Ours is one of them, to take ambulances to the general hospital in Niger State, where the victims were, to assist in their management. And some of our ambulances were taken there, and as we speak, 16 of them are currently with us. Three of them are critically sick.”
The explosion, which occurred at Dikko Junction, Nigeria State, resulted in severe burns for many victims. “We have 16 victims, three of whom are critically ill with burns exceeding 80 per cent,” Ekele stated.
The hospital’s Medical Advisory Committee Chairman, Dr. Bob Okonu, highlighted the intensive care provided. “We have not slept since Sunday, working around the clock to save these lives,” he said.
He said that the initial resuscitative efforts involved extensive use of medical supplies, including over 20 cartons of normal saline and various antibiotics to combat potential infections.
According to Dr. Okonu, the financial burden is substantial, with each patient’s care costing between six to seven million naira in the first week alone. Okon added that managing burns of this magnitude is capital-intensive, requiring specialised nutrition, fluid replacement, and infection control measures.
“From Sunday night to Monday morning, if you quantify the amount of money spent to ensure that the resuscitative phase took place, it was over two million already.
“So because the body system, the skin is quite critical, if not properly taken care of, it also will affect other internal organs. Of them, I don’t think anyone will spend anything less than six to seven million keeping them within the first seven days. Yes, because of the active engagement, the active phase of resuscitation that will happen,” he explained.
Speaking further, Dr Okonu said that the hospital’s mental health unit was preparing to offer psychological support as part of a multidisciplinary approach to rehabilitation. “We have seasoned clinical psychologists ready to intervene when needed,” Dr. Okon emphasised.
Narrating his harrowing experience, one of the victims, Yunusu Yusuf, shed light on the events leading up to the disaster that claimed numerous lives and left many injured.
He recounted his ordeal at the market on the fateful Saturday. “I was at the market when a tanker fell, and fuel started spilling out. People began scooping the fuel, and another tanker was brought in to offload. Someone nearby was smoking a cigarette, and that’s when the fire started,” he said.
Yusuf described the chaos, saying, “I quickly removed my trousers and jumped over the fence as the fire followed me.” Despite his injuries, he expressed gratitude for the medical care he is receiving. “The doctors and nurses are looking after me very well,” he added.
Another affected family is Mr Hamza, whose two children, Alhassan and Isah, were caught in the blaze. “The fire started near my shop. My children were repairing a machine while the fuel was offloaded into another tanker. When the fire broke out, they tried to run but fell into the fuel,” Hamza explained.
He said he rushed to the scene upon hearing the news. “They are now being well cared for at the hospital, with proper feeding and medical attention,” he said. Hamza also mentioned that the Nigerian state governor provided N50,000 to support the victims’ families in feeding at the hospital.
The explosion, triggered by locals siphoning fuel from a crashed 60,000-liter tanker, resulted in 98 fatalities and 69 injuries, according to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). A mass burial has been conducted for those who perished at the scene.
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