A fully loaded petrol tanker caught fire in Ijabe, a community in the Odo-Otin Local Government Area of Osun State, causing widespread panic among local residents.

The tanker with 33,000 litres of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, was said to have caught fire right on the highway linking Osun with Kwara State.

According to a resident, Jamiu Opeyemi, the incident led to a gridlock on the road as travellers along the route were forced to turn around.

The spokesperson of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, Osun State command, Kehinde Adeleke, confirmed the incident, saying that the cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained.

“The incident has led to blockage of road and has also caused obstruction to vehicular movement, which in turn has brought about panic to the dwellers, travellers and most especially the farmers around the area,” she said.