At least six schoolchildren were tragically killed in northeast Nigeria when an improvised explosive device (IED) they mistook for scrap metal detonated, stated police and a local official on Sunday.
The victims, aged between 13 and 15, discovered the explosive along with scrap metal and stored it in an unfinished building at an Islamic school in the Gubio area of Borno state, an epicenter of the longstanding Islamist insurgency.
According to a spokesperson for the Gubio local government, the device exploded, resulting in the deaths of the six children who intended to sell it as scrap metal on Saturday.
The school, which focuses on teaching children to recite the Qur’an, often engages students in collecting scrap metal to sell within the local community.
Borno state police spokesperson Daso Nahum Kenneth confirmed the incident, although further details were not immediately available.
Source-Reuters
