Governor Abba Yusuf’s government of Kano State has placed an immediate ban on the importation of scrap materials from parts of the North-East and North-West, including Borno and Yobe states, following a recent bomb explosion that claimed five lives and left several others injured.
The announcement was made by the Commissioner for Security and Home Affairs, Ibrahim Umaru, during a press conference held on Wednesday in Kano.
According to Umaru, preliminary investigations traced the source of the deadly explosion to scrap metal transported from the North-East, a region grappling with years of Boko Haram insurgency.
“In light of the recent bomb blasts that tragically claimed five lives and injured several others, we have traced the origin of the explosives to scrap materials brought in from the Northeast,” he said.
“That region has long been affected by Boko Haram activities, and we cannot afford to take any chances.”
He added that improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were suspected to have been hidden among metal waste that ended up in local scrap yards.
The commissioner said the directive is strictly preventive and urged all scrap dealers to stop importing metal waste from high-risk areas immediately.
Umaru warned, “All dealers in scrap materials are hereby instructed to immediately stop importing such items from the Northeast.
“Anyone found violating this order will face the full weight of the law.”
Scrap Business Not Banned – Kano Govt Clarifies
Umaru, however, clarified that the government is not banning the scrap trade entirely, but is focused on interdicting scrap from flagged security zones.
“We are not banning the business of scrap entirely. But bringing them in from high-risk zones without thorough scrutiny endangers everyone,” he explained.
The ban comes in the wake of a deadly explosion that occurred on Monday evening at a scrapyard in Kofar Dawanau, Dala Local Government Area of Kano State.
The blast, which occurred around 5:30pm, happened while workers were offloading metal scraps from a semi-trailer with registration number PKM 709 ZY.
A preliminary report by the Bomb Disposal Unit revealed that the explosion was caused by an old hand grenade mixed with metallic items.
The deceased, identified as Hamisu Uzairu, a 55-year-old labourer from PRP Kwanar Jaba Quarters in Nasarawa LGA, was pronounced dead at the Murtala Muhammed Specialist Hospital, Kano.
Six others, Sani Ahmed, Najib Sani, Jabir Tijani, Wada Abdullahi, Huzaifa Yusha’u, and Bilyaminu Sani, sustained varying degrees of injuries and were treated at the same hospital.
The owner of the scrapyard, Jamilu Zakari Salisu, reported the incident to the Dala Divisional Police Headquarters, after which the site was cordoned off for investigation.
Naijaonpoint reports that the Monday blast came barely a week after another deadly explosion on June 21, at the Hotoro Eastern Bypass area of Kano, where five people were killed and 15 others injured.
The State command of the Nigeria Police Force, however, is yet to release an official statement regarding Monday’s explosion, though investigations into the source of the explosive devices are reportedly ongoing.