There was palpable tension in Azare town, Headquarters of Katagum Local Government Area of Bauchi State, after an explosion suspected to be from dynamite hit the ancient town.
A house, Mosque and school were destroyed in the explosion.
The state Commissioner of Police, Aminu Alhassan, disclosed this on Monday at the Palace of Emir of Katagum Alhaji Umar Faruk II and the Palace of Galadiman Katagum Alhaji Usman Mahmood Abdullahi, when he accompanied Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed, to commiserate with the victims.
He said that it was accidental explosion and no life was lost, but three buildings were damaged.
The CP said the explosion occured after some people cleared the grasses and garbage in the area and burnt them.
“We suspected may be the explosives device like dynamite was buried in the area for more than three decades, because the road construction company once lived in that place, and sometimes back when Boko Haram attacked Azare Police Station, they followed through the same route where the device exploded, we are still investigating,” he said.
The CP said anti-bomb disposal unit had cordoned off the place to carry out further investigation, adding that two explosives were discovered in the area.
Governor Mohammed pledged to compensate the affected victims and expressed gratitude to Allah that no life was lost as a result of the incident
He asked the affected victims to take the incident as an act of God, and reiterated government commitment to ensure safety and well being of the citizens.
The governor asked the resident in the area to cooperate with the security agencies, even if it means to relocate them from the area in order to clear all the suspected explosives in the area, assuring them of government support.
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