Six Pupils Killed As ‘IED Mistaken For Scrap Metal’ Explodes In Borno

In a tragic incident on Saturday, at least six children lost their lives following the explosion of an improvised explosive device (IED) near a Qur’anic school in Gubio Local Government Area of Borno State.

The devastating event occurred around 2 p.m., as reported by Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency publication that specializes in the Lake Chad region.

According to the publication, the explosion was triggered when an undetonated IED, collected among scraps, detonated within a building used by a metal scavenger.

The proximity of the explosion to the Qur’anic school led to the unfortunate death of six children who were nearby at the time.

The publication reads, “An improvised explosive device (IED) has detonated in Gubio town, Borno, resulting in the tragic deaths of six Quranic school pupils popularly known as Almajirai.

“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.

“Little did the scavenger know that among the collected metal was an abandoned undetonated IED, which exploded at approximately 2 pm, claiming the lives of the children and causing severe bodily harm.”

In 2022, the Borno police said about 55 scrap metal collectors were killed by insurgents within the period of three weeks in the state.

In 2023, Babagana Zulum, governor of Borno, banned activities of metal scavenging in all LGAs of the state.

Zulum had said metal scavenging activities had caused the death of thousands of citizens in the state.