At least six schoolchildren, aged between 13 and 15, in a northeast Nigerian Islamic School, have lost their lives due to an improvised explosive device (IED) mistaken for scrap metal.
Local authorities reported that the children unwittingly picked up the explosive device alongside some scrap metal and stored it in an uncompleted building at an Islamic school in the Gubio area of Borno State, a region at the epicentre of a prolonged Islamist insurgency.
According to a spokesperson for the Gubio local government, the IED detonated, resulting in the tragic deaths of the six students.
The incident occurred on Saturday as the students attempted to sell the device as scrap metal.
The Nigerian Islamic school, dedicated to teaching children the recitation of the Qur’an, often engages in collecting scrap metal to sell within local communities.
While the spokesperson for the Gubio local government provided this information, Borno state police spokesperson Daso Nahum Kenneth confirmed the incident, though immediate further details were unavailable.
It is worth noting that this incident occurred just days after a tragic event in Nigeria’s central Plateau state. At least 30 lives were lost and numerous others were injured in a series of attacks near Mangu town, despite the implementation of a curfew by the state government. Central Nigeria is plagued by farmer-herder attacks and communal conflicts, creating a volatile situation in the ethnically and religiously diverse ‘Middle Belt’ region.
Tragically, this cycle of violence has resulted in the loss of countless lives in recent years.
The recent surge of violence on Tuesday and Wednesday follows a tragic Christmas Day attack in the area that claimed the lives of at least 140 people. A curfew was implemented on January 23, lasting from dusk until dawn.
