Kano, Nigeria — June 21, 2025.
This morning, the city woke up to smoke, screams, and sorrow.
What was supposed to be a normal day at a scrap collection yard in the Gidan Karfe area of Hotoro, along the Eastern Bypass, turned into a tragedy that has left at least five people dead and over a dozen injured.
The explosion came without warning. Witnesses say it sounded like thunder — sudden, sharp, and terrifying. Then came smoke. Then panic.
🧨 What Happened?
Authorities confirmed that a military-grade mortar bomb was the cause of the blast. Somehow, the deadly device found its way into a heap of scrap metal — a chilling reminder of how much war can follow us home, even when we think we are far from its frontlines.
Locals say the bomb may have come in from Yobe State, unknowingly transported with other metal parts. Workers handling the materials had no idea of the danger lurking beneath the rust.
They never stood a chance.
🚨 Casualties and Emergency Response
By the time rescue teams arrived, the scene was chaotic. Metal shards everywhere. Smoke hanging in the air. The wounded were rushed to Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital and nearby clinics.
- 5 people confirmed dead
- 10–15 others injured
- Several vehicles and properties nearby were damaged
The Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Adamu Bakori, confirmed that an investigation is now underway to trace the origin of the explosive and prevent another disaster like this.
💔 Beyond the Blast — A Wake-up Call
This isn’t just a scrap yard accident. It’s a mirror. A reflection of our vulnerability — of how war leaves shadows that outlive the battlefield. This is not the first time unexploded ordnance has claimed lives in peacetime Nigeria. It may not be the last… unless we act.
How does a bomb make it all the way to a bustling city like Kano?
How many more are buried in scrap yards, school fields, or market corners?
These are not just security questions. They are human ones.
🕯️ For the Dead, the Wounded… and the Forgotten
Today, we mourn not only the lives lost but the silence that allowed it.
The workers at that yard were just trying to earn a living — to feed families, to survive in a country where survival itself is a full-time job.
They didn’t know they were picking up death.
✍🏾 Final Word
Let this not be just another headline.
Let it be a turning point — for stricter checks, for proper ammunition disposal, for accountability.
And let us remember the names, if they are released. Not as statistics, but as people.
Today, the scrap yard became a graveyard. May it never happen again 🙏
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