Seven students were hurt when a blast shook a primary school in Benue.

There was a sudden explosion at LGEA Primary School, Ater, in Ukum Local Government Area of Benue State, which hurt seven kids.

People in the community said that on Tuesday, the kids found something strange in one of the classrooms. Some students thought it wasn’t dangerous, so they started to play with it before it went off all of a sudden.

A neighbour who only gave his name as Ternenger told what happened over the phone on Friday.

He said, “The kids were playing with an object when they put it into something that could catch fire, which caused the explosion.”

Thank goodness no one died, but seven students were hurt. It wasn’t a planned attack with weapons on the school; it was just a mistake. Some damage was done to the school building by the blast.

Ternenger thought the object might have been a piece of an explosive device that security workers had left behind by mistake during a previous clearance operation.

The students who were hurt were named Abigail Terseer (Primary 5), William Msaaga and Tyolumun Deborah (both Primary 6), Terseer Mhenuter (Primary 3), Mzungwega Mnengeuter (Primary 2), and Aondohemba Luper (Primary 1).

DSP Udeme Edet, a spokesperson for the Benue State Police Command, stated that an Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit was sent to the scene to secure it and look it over.

Later, a group from the Ministry of Education and Knowledge Management, lead by Commissioner Dr. Margaret Adamu, went to see the school and the kids who were hurt at St. Anthony’s Hospital, Zaki-Biam. She praised Jonathan Modi, Chairman of the Ukum Local Government Area, for acting quickly and thanked the hospital staff for their quick care. She was sure the children would fully heal.

Chairman Modi said he was away on business when the explosion happened. He said that three of the victims were almost ready to be sent home, while a student with a major eye injury would be sent to Makurdi for more specialised care.

Rev. Sr. Susan Tonguve, Managing Director of St. Anthony’s Hospital, confirmed that all of the hurt children were stable, with only one still needing more intense eye care.

Mzungwega Yongo thanked the Benue State Government on behalf of the parents for jumping in to help the families right away.