The Kano Police command has disclosed that its officers have recovered nine unexploded bombs from the site of Saturday’s deadly explosion at Yongxing Steel Company in the Mariri area, along Ring Road, Kano.

The explosion, which killed five people and injured several others, has been traced to military-grade ordnance mistakenly brought into the facility along with scrap metal.

The development has allayed fears from earlier reports suggesting that explosion came from IEDs

 Speaking further on the matter, the Kano State Police Command urged residents to remain calm and continue with their normal activities without fear.

It also advised the public to be alert and promptly report anything suspicious through the command’s emergency lines.

According to a statement issued by the Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Hussaini Abdullahi, two more unexploded ordnances were recovered after an initial seven had been found.

“In addition to the earlier 7 recovered UXOs, 2 UXOs were later recovered from the scene, bringing it to a total of nine,” he said.

He explained that a post-blast investigation carried out by the police Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit — specifically from the Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) division — confirmed that the blast was triggered by an Unexploded Ordnance (UXO), not an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) as was first suspected.

The police said the bombs were transported to Kano by mistake, leading to the explosion while offloading the metal scrap.

“Premised on this, the command urges members of the public to remain calm and avoid unnecessary panic, as there is no imminent security threat,” the statement added.

The Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Adamu Bakori, sympathised with families of the dead victims as he prayed for the full recovery of the others at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital.