One person have reportedly died and four others injured as suspected bomb explosions rocked Bassa community, in Shiroro LGA of Niger State.
The incident occurred on Thursday morning as the victims were on their way to their farms.
Dauda Haruna, a farmer was idenfied as the person whose life was claimed by the incident while three of the four victims that sustained injuries are siblings.
Eyewitnesses said the explosion went up while the 3 siblings, Mali (20), Nehemiah (14) and Jona (15) were on a motorcycle, while the second one went up when the motorcycle of those coming for rescue stepped on it, killing one of the rescuers, Dauda Haruna.
According to Daily Trust, Mr. Enoch, the father of the three children, who struggled to control his tears narrated the incident to our correspondent at the IBB Specialist Hospital, Minna, where the victims were being treated.
He said it was second time bombs would explode this month in Bassa.
Enoch said the children were ahead on a bike while he was trekking with his wife when they heard a heavy sound.
“We were going to farm to harvest our crops. So, I asked my children to start going on 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.
“Two people who came from Bassa on a rescue mission again stepped on another bomb close to the scene of my children. Unfortunately, one lost his life,” he explained.
Two of the siblings, Nehemiah and Jonah and one of the rescuers, Abdullahi Shuaibu lost one leg each.
An eyewitness, Sa’adu Shuaibu, said one of the victims who died was taking loafs of bread to the neighbouring villages when he met the three siblings in distress, with their legs shattered.
“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,” he said.
One of residents, Ahmed Almustapha, appealed to the state and federal governments to come to their aid.
The police and the government are yet to react to the development as of time of filing this report.
