Contrary to claim of the Ebonyi government that ‘knockout’ caused the explosion that rocked a private school and shattered the left arm of one of the students, in Abakaliki, last Thursday, facts have emerged that it was actually a grenade.
The situation had prompted government to ban sale and use of fireworks anywhere within the state, especially this festive period.
Special Assistant to the Governor on Media, Francis Nwaze, said investigations revealed that the explosion was caused by careless application of fireworks by students, warning that henceforth, anyone caught in possession of fireworks would be arrested and prosecuted.
But, the victim, Chibuike Chukwu, an SSII student of Glory Land High School, Azugwu, Abakaliki, whose mangled hand has been amputated at the children’s ward of Alex Ekwueme Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, told Daily Sun that the lethal device was brought to the school by his classmate, Mogbo, a mobile policeman’s son posted to the Ebonyi State police command.
Read Also: ‘Some Factors May Trigger Deregulation In Petroleum Sector’
Chibuike denied reports that he brought the ‘explosive’ to school.
Chibuike who spoke amid tears and anguish, disclosed that the student, who brought the object to the school, ran away immediately it exploded and has not been seen since then.
“This incident happened around 9am. One of my classmates brought an object that looked like electric bulb which had black colour cover. He removed the cover and I was inside the classroom while he was on the step very close to our classroom. When he removed the cover of the object, the object fell from his hand and dropped on the floor.
“I rushed to pick it up to throw away thinking it was an ordinary knockout so that it doesn’t blow in the classroom. So, I picked it and it immediately exploded on my hand and chopped it off. I also sustained leg injuries in the explosion.
“The boy is son of a policeman; his father is a Mopol. When the incident happened, students scampered for safety and I was taken to one of the teachers in our school.”