Grenade explosion kills scavenger, injures 3 others

A scavenger was killed and three others injured when a military grenade exploded in the Idi-Araba area of Mushin, Lagos State.

The explosion occurred on Thursday afternoon at Taiwo Street in Idi-Araba while the scavenger was trying to split one of the two grenades they allegedly bought as condemned irons.

According to eyewitnesses, the bomb went off on one of the scavengers killing him on the spot inside the scrapyard while the others sustained injuries.

An inferno was said to have followed the explosion causing panic among residents.
“This happened yesterday at my community Idi-Araba, Mushin Lagos. They bought it as iron condemned when they brought it, they tried cutting into two but smoke started coming out and the thing exploded. It killed only one person and injured two. All of them are northerners,” a resident said.

However, many Lagosians wondered who sold the bombs to the scavengers as condemned irons with majority saying they might have stolen or picked them from where they were kept.

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“How did a bomb get to the hand of a scavenger for God’s sake? The shrapnel should be preserved. I’m sure the DSS and the Army must be able to trace where it came from and apprehend the culprits,” another resident posted.

Confirming the incident, the Lagos Police Command said preliminary investigations showed the explosion was accidental and caused by the handling of the grenade by the scavengers.

It said distress call was received by the Explosives Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Command, Ikeja, around 1:30pm about the incident and a team of specialists was mobilised to the scene immediately.

Lagos Police spokesman Benjamin Hundeyin said: “On arrival, the team rendered the scene safe and cordoned it off. It was discovered that the explosion was as a result of military grade grenades tampered with by a scavenger who was trying to split one of the grenades.

“As a result, he died in the spot while three others suffered injuries and were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
“The team secured evidential materials from the scene for further analysis and the corpse was deposited at the mortuary for autopsy. Investigation into the incident continues.”

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