Five children have been injured in an explosion caused by an improvised explosive device (IED) in Mafa Local Government Area (LGA) of Borno State.
Naija News reports that the incident occurred on Thursday, at approximately 2:25 PM, when the children unknowingly tampered with the devices that had been hidden near a culvert.
The explosion took place along the access road leading to the construction site of the New Mafa Central Mosque.
According to Zagazola Makama, a publication focused on counter-insurgency in the Lake Chad region, the IEDs were placed in block holes near the culvert, and the children were unaware of the danger when they interacted with the devices.
The victims of the explosion include four males and one female, identified as Abdullahi Umar, Musa Mele, Fatima Abatcha, Abba Muhammed, and Khalid Bukar.
The blast resulted in varying degrees of injuries, with one of the boys reportedly losing his hand due to the force of the explosion.
In response to the explosion, a combined team consisting of the Explosive Ordinance Disposal-Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (EOD-CBRN) unit, the police from Mafa Division, and the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) quickly arrived at the scene. The area surrounding the blast site was cordoned off, and a thorough search for secondary devices was conducted.
During the operation, pieces of cans, which had been used as improvised containers for the IEDs, were found and professionally detonated by the EOD-CBRN team.
Following the incident, the EOD-CBRN team conducted an Explosive Ordinance Risk Education (EORE) session for the children and community members.
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