Tragedy in Borno: Four boys blown to death by bomb picked up behind motor park

By: Hamza Suleiman

The Police have explained how blast from an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) explosion picked behind behind the Banki Motor Park park in Bama Local Government Area killed four boys on Friday.

The boys were playing with an IED picked from the bush behind the motor park before it detonated and killed them, the spokesperson for Borno Police Command, ASP Nahum Daso, said in a statement issued in Maiduguri on Friday.

Daso said the explosion which occurred at about 12:40 p.m. behind the Banki Motor Park in Wajari Ward was reported to the police at about 1:00 p.m. by one Babagana Mohammed of Wajari Ward in the local government.

He said this prompted the Divisional Police Officer in Banki to mobilise personnel and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technicians to the scene.

The Borno Police Command spokesperson revealed that preliminary investigation indicated that a 12-year-old boy, Mustapha Tijja, sustained serious injuries from the explosion and was rushed to the FHI 360 NGO Clinic in Banki, where he is currently receiving treatment.

He explained that further findings revealed that the injured boy had gone with four of his friends to a makeshift room behind the motor park where the victims were playing with an IED allegedly picked from the bush before it detonated.

The spokesman listed the deceased as Awana Mustapha, 15; Malum Modu, 14; Lawan Ibrahim, 12; and Modu Abacha, 12.

He said normalcy had been restored in the area while investigation was ongoing.

According to him, the Commissioner of Police in Borno, Mr Naziru Abdulmajid, expressed deep condolences to the bereaved families and warned the residents, especially children, against touching strange objects or suspected explosives.

He urged the members of the public to report any suspicious items to the nearest police station, providing emergency contacts: 0806 807 5581 and 0802 347 3293. (NAN)