A teenager was killed and two others injured on Sunday when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) exploded in Mubi, the commercial hub of Adamawa State.
The Commissioner of Information and Strategy in the state, Mr Ahmad Sajoh, confirmed the incident to Channels Television.
Contrary to reports of a suicide attack, Mr Sajoh blamed the explosion on some children scavenging for scrapped items in a dump.
“It was not an attack and it was not also a suicide attack,” the commissioner asserted. “It was actually as a result of some scrapped scavengers.”
He, however, appealed to the residents in the area to remain calm, explaining that, “Some small teenagers were scavenging for scraps and in the process, they picked up some unexploded IED and they took it to some scrap market very close to a bank, intending to sell it.”
“We believe that is what would have happened. One of the children lost his life and the other two are seriously injured,” Sajoh added.
He further revealed that the security agencies have identified those involved and their respective families, insisting that they were not members of the dreaded Boko Haram terrorist group.
Meanwhile, eyewitnesses also disclosed that the explosion occurred on Sunday afternoon near a scrap materials gathering point along Kabang Road in Mubi South Local Government Area of the state.
They added that the boy in possession of the device was killed on the spot while the two other teenagers wounded were evacuated to the Mubi General Hospital for medical attention.
