A tanker truck lost control and struck a residential building in Maje, a community near Suleja in Niger State, leaving a woman and her 10-year-old grandson dead.
The crash occurred on Sunday, May 17, 2026, along the Suleja-Minna axis. The impact also left another child from the family injured.
A resident, Muhammad Badamasi, said the vehicle was heading toward Kaduna from Minna when the driver noticed a brake failure.
According to him, the driver attempted to manage the situation while the vehicle was still in motion, but the tanker eventually veered off the road and hit the house.
The victims were identified as Maryam Shuaibu and her grandson. The injured girl is receiving attention.
Another resident, Abdulmumini Ahmad, said the building had been hit by moving tankers on three previous occasions, raising concerns about the condition of the highway and road safety in the area.
The incident sparked protests by local youths, who blocked sections of the Suleja-Minna road and another route leading to Dikko Junction, disrupting movement toward the Abuja-Kaduna expressway. They cited a lack of compensation for earlier crashes involving deaths and property damage.
The blockade caused heavy traffic across Suleja and surrounding communities.
A delegation from the Niger State Government, led by the Commissioner for Transport, Abdullahi Shuaibu Maje, later engaged the protesters and secured the reopening of the road around 3 p.m.
The victims were later buried according to Islamic rites.
Police Area Commander in Suleja, ACP Muhammad Sani Musa, confirmed the incident.
