By Kolawole Ojebisi
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has explained how an explosion at an Islamiyyah school in the Kuchibiyi community of Bwari Area Council reportedly killed two persons.
The police command maintained that the explosion occurred at approximately 11am at the Tsangagyar Sani Uthman Islamiyya School.
This explanation is contained in a statement issued by the command’s spokesperson, SP Josephine Adeh, on Monday night.
According to Adeh, the command received a distress call from the Sarki of Kuchibuyi and a team of police operatives, including the Command’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team and the Area Commander of Kubwa, swiftly mobilized to the scene.
She said during the rescue operation, victims were promptly evacuated and rushed to the Hospital for medical attention.
‘’Preliminary investigations revealed that three men from Katsina had visited the owner of the Islamic school, Mallam Adamu Ashimu.
“The three visitors are suspected of having brought the explosive device with them. But two of the men died in the explosion while tampering with the improvised explosive device (IED), on the school Veranda, while the third man and a female trader sustained severe injuries and are currently receiving treatment under police guard.”
“The FCT Bomb Squad has confirmed that it was an IED explosion, as remnants of the device have been recovered.”
Adeh added that Mallam Adamu Ashimu, the owner of the school, has been taken into custody for questioning, and further findings will be communicated in due course.
She quoted the Commissioner of Police, FCT, CP Olatunji Disu, as urging members of the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity, behavior, or items that may resemble improvised explosive devices to the police via our emergency numbers: – 0806 158 1938, 0803 200 3913, 0802 894 0883, 0705 733 7653, CRU: 0810 731 4192 and PCB: 0902 222 2352
In a report, Premium Times, a Nigerian digital newspaper said the incident, which occurred around noon on Monday, left four others critically injured.
It quoted a security source as saying that the student who died was allegedly carrying an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) when it detonated.
“The dead student, whose identity is yet to be ascertained, bore the substance suspected to be IED while it exploded and injured the other students, thereby causing pandemonium in the centre.
“The students involved were recently admitted into the school and that they resumed on 3rd January 2025,” the security source was quoted as saying.