More than 90 people have been killed, and about 50 injured, by a huge fuel tanker explosion in Nigeria's northwestern state of Jigawa, local police say.

The tanker overturned in Taura town on Tuesday night and people rushed to the scene to scoop the spilling fuel.

It was travelling from Kano to Nguru town in Yobe state.

"Some 94 people died. They burnt beyond recognition and 50 others have been evacuated for treatment in the hospital in the town of Ringim," DSP Lawan Shiisu Adam, the police spokesperson in Jigawa state, told local journalists.

Fuel tanker explosions are common in Nigeria. Last month 59 people died in Niger state after a fuel tanker collided with a lorry carrying passengers and cattle.

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