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An IED detonated in Kofa Biyu, Konduga, killing two children and injuring six others despite scrap metal collection bans in Borno
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Police intensified sensitization campaigns after repeated incidents; authorities urge residents to report suspicious objects immediately to prevent tragedies
Tragedy struck in Konduga Local Government Area of Borno State on Sunday when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) detonated, killing two children and injuring six others.
The incident happened in Kofa Biyu community, where residents said the children unknowingly brought the explosive into town as scrap metal. “Two of them died instantly,” a resident told reporters.
Confirming the development, the spokesman of the Borno State Police Command, ASP Nahum Kenneth Daso, however, stated that one child was confirmed dead, while six others sustained injuries. “The children dug out the IED and took it home. Unfortunately, it exploded, killing one and injuring six,” he said.
He noted that the victims were immediately evacuated to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, where they are receiving treatment.
Daso further explained that despite a ban on scrap metal collection in Borno State, similar incidents have continued to occur in Konduga, Dikwa, Monguno, and Jere LGAs. He said the police have intensified sensitisation campaigns across communities to prevent further tragedies.
Just days earlier, police recovered an unexploded ordnance (UXO) from farmland in Dikwa LGA after a farmer, Babagana Kachalla, raised an alarm. The Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team later identified the device as a 2.2-meter-long Cluster Bomb Unit (CBU).
Borno State has previously recorded several similar cases. On January 27, 2024, six Tsangaya pupils (Almajirai) and a scrap metal dealer were killed in an IED blast in Gubio LGA. In July 2022, 13 scrap-metal collectors lost their lives after a buried bomb exploded in Bama LGA.
Authorities have once again warned residents to avoid handling suspicious objects and to report them immediately to security agencies.