Borno: Six Children Killed as Undetonated Device Explodes Near Qur’anic School

In a devastating incident on Saturday, at least six young pupils lost their lives when an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded near a Qur’anic school in Gubio LGA of Borno state.

According to reports from Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency publication focusing on the Lake Chad region, the tragedy unfolded around 2 p.m. when an undetonated IED, mistakenly collected among scraps stored in a building by a metal scavenger, erupted.

“The incident took place on Saturday, January 27, when a metal scavenger unknowingly collected and stored various metallic items in a building in close proximity to a Tsangaya school,” the publication stated.

The explosive device, hidden amidst the collected scrap, detonated, claiming the lives of six Qur’anic school pupils, commonly known as Almajirai, and causing severe bodily harm.

This heartbreaking event echoes previous concerns over the dangers posed by undetected explosives in the state. In 2022, the Borno police reported the deaths of approximately 55 scrap metal collectors within a three-week period, victims of attacks by insurgents.

In response to these alarming incidents, Governor Babagana Zulum took action in 2023 by imposing a ban on metal scavenging activities across all Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state. Zulum emphasized that such activities had resulted in the tragic loss of thousands of citizens’ lives in the state.