News

Toying With Grenade: Blast Kills 11-Year-Old Son Of Police Officer

Published

10 years ago

June 14, 2015

An 11-year-old boy, Adolphus Akua, has been reportedly killed by an explosive device suspected to be a grenade at Nyor Igyungu village, near the new Makurdi International Market.
Sunday Vanguard gathered from a source in the neighbourhood that the deceased was a primary four pupil.
According to him, the deceased only recently lost his father, Akua Mjoko, who, until his death, was an Assistant Superintendent of Police, ASP, from Mbapupur Gaambe Ushin in Gwer West local government area.
“The boy’s father, who died few months back, was an ASP. After the father’s death, his children have also been dying. In this particular case, we learned that the boy was clearing up their living home few days ago when he found a grenade in one of the bags in the room”, the source said.
“Unaware of what the substance was, the boy took it outside and used it as toy with children within the compound and neighbourhood.
“In the cause of toying with the substance, he pulled off the pin on the grenade and the devise went off, killing him instantly while a younger girl, Torkase Anza, who was with him at the time, sustained serious injury.”
He said the injured girl was receiving treatment at a public hospital in the town while the remains of the boy were buried almost immediately “because the explosive mutilated his body.”
When contacted, Benue State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Deputy Superintendent, DSP, Austin Ezeani, who confirmed the incident, said the Police Bomb Squad had combed the area and the home of the deceased police officer to evacuate explosives materials that were not returned to the command before the death of the officer who, he said, served at the Guma Area Command before his death.
He said before the officer died, he apparently did not return the canisters assigned to him while on duty, and his family members probably did also not know that the devices were in possession of the late officer hence did not return them.
Ezeani stated that to forestall re-occurrence of the incident, “the Benue State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Hyacinth Dagala, has directed that no officer in the command should for whatever reason be allowed to take explosive devices to their residence and private homes.”