Farmer k!lled, three siblings and one other severely injured as bomb explosions rock Niger state community

A farmer, Dauda Haruna has been reportedly k!lled while four others, including 3 siblings, were severely injured in bomb explosions in Bassa community, Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State.

According to Daily Trust, the incident happened between the Bassa and Gwadara communities on Thursday morning, December 19, 2024, when the victims were going to the farm to harvest crops.

Residents told the publication that the first 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.

Mr Enoch, the father of the three children, who struggled to control his tears narrated the incident at the IBB Specialist Hospital, Minna, where the victims were being treated.

He said it was the 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,” he narrated. 

“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, told Daily Trust that one of the victims who d!ed was taking loaves 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 the residents, Ahmed Almustapha, appealed to the state and federal governments to come to their aid.