Following reports of an alleged explosion in Glory Land Secondary School which chopped off the hand of a student, the state government has debunked the rumour and banned the use of knockouts and all forms of fireworks in the state.
The state Governor, Engr. David Umahi announced the ban through his Special Adviser on Media Francis Nwaze. He warned that anyone caught in possession of knockout will be arrested.
Mr. Nwaze, however, clarifies that what exploded was a knockout that the student was playing within the school and not a bomb.
In his words; “When the governor received the message about alleged bomb expulsion in one of the secondary schools in the state, he was shocked. And he gave immediate directive for further investigation about that.
“It was later found out that it was a mere knockout. As a result of this, his Excellency bans the use of knockout in the state, especially in this festive period. He gave the directive this afternoon. And that is the stand of the governor for now.
“When the governor gives directives, it is expected that the general public should obey it if they don’t, any person caught will face the full wrath of the law and the government disciplinary committee,” he said.
Speaking the Commissioner for Internal Security and Border Peace, Stanley Okoro Emegha, vowed to close down all shops selling knockouts in the state.
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Mr. Emegha said he personally visited the school and confirmed that the exploded device was a knockout and not a bomb as reported.
“We showed a proactive response towards the incident yesterday. This is because we will not allow the governor to do everything.
“The way the incident was blown out of proportion is so unfortunate. There was nothing and absolutely nothing like bomb expulsion incident in that Glory Land school, Azugwu.
“There was nothing like an explosive device in that place. You know that this is a Christmas period, that thing was a Christmas firework.
“A student smuggled one into the classroom while others were taking their exams and he was playing with it. And in the process, one exploded and got him wounded. Some of the students were not expecting such and the shock got them down.
“I was called immediately and on getting there, I met with the affected student. I was there when he was rushed to the hospital. The two others who got shocked later regained consciousness and continued with their exams.
“I was the one that told the parents to go back to their homes because it was a knockout. As I was leaving for the place, I called the state police command and the DSS to start moving to that place, thinking that it was an explosion. And we discovered that it was a
knockout.
“Students continued with their exams after the whole thing. It was not up to 30 minutes, normalcy returned to the school.
“The PPRO called me this morning, speaking bitterly about it. Because of this thing that has happened, I will go round the markets in the town and close down any shops selling knockouts in the state,” He said.
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