A suspected explosion has resulted in the death of one farmer, Dauda Haruna, and left four others, including three siblings, severely injured in Bassa community, Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State.
The incident occurred on Thursday morning while the victims were heading for the farm to harvest crops between Bassa and Gwadara communities.
According to residents, the first explosion occurred when three siblings – Mali (20), Nehemiah (14), and Jona (15) – were riding a motorcycle.
The second explosion occurred when two rescuers stepped on a bomb while trying to help, killing Dauda Haruna, one of the rescuers, Daily Trust reports.
Enoch, the father of the three children, shared the tragic incident with newsmen at the IBB Specialist Hospital in Minna, where the victims were receiving treatment.
He explained that this was the second bomb explosion in Bassa this month.
“We were going to farm to harvest our crops. I asked my children to start going on the bike while my wife and I followed on foot. They were far from us, but we heard a heavy sound like gunshots.
“While we were discussing that it might be bandits, someone coming from the same direction told us that some children had stepped on a bomb. I knew they were my children,” Enoch said.
The explosions left Nehemiah and Jona, as well as one of the rescuers, Abdullahi Shuaibu, with one leg each.
An eyewitness, Sa’adu Shuaibu, explained that the victim who died had been delivering loaves of bread to nearby villages when he came across the three children, who were in distress.
“When he saw the children, because he could not help them alone, he rushed to the community to tell us to go and rescue them.
So, he picked one person on his bike, and on their way, they stepped on another bomb. Unfortunately, the victim who rode the bike died, while the person he took lost one of his legs,” Sa’adu said.
A resident, Ahmed Almustapha, called on the state and federal governments for assistance.
As of the time of filing the report, SP Wasiu Abiodun, the spokesperson for the Niger State Police Command, confirmed he would investigate the incident but had not yet provided further details.
Attempts to contact the Niger State Commissioner for Homeland Security, Brig Gen Bello Abdullahi Mohammed (retd.), were unsuccessful.
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