Scores were feared dead following an explosion along Court Road in Sabon Gari, Kano State on Tuesday.
The explosion, which occurred near a private secondary school, Winners School, destroyed a residential building and affected part of the school.
The explosion occurred around 9:30 am with many schoolchildren reportedly affected.
Reacting to the development, Muhammad Garba, Kano commissioner of information, said the explosion occurred at an animal feed store opposite the school along Aba road.
Garba said an investigation into the explosion has commenced to ascertain the cause of it.
“While the cause of the explosion and the damage it had done is yet to be officially ascertained, investigation has since commenced to determine the cause, impact and measures to be taken,” he said.
On his part, Sama’ila Dikko, Kano commissioner of police, said it was not a bomb blast but a “gas cylinder explosion”.
“It wasn’t a bomb blast. It’s a gas cylinder explosion. The seller’s shop is on the ground floor of the building where the school is located,” Dikko said.
“So, when the cylinder exploded, it brought down the building and the pupils got injured. There wasn’t a bomb blast.”
The National Emergency Management Agency and Fire service operatives were also on the ground trying to rescue victims of the explosion.
Meanwhile, the Kano State Government clarified that the early Tuesday morning explosion in the Sabon Gari area did not occur in a school.
The state Commissioner for Information, Muhammad Garba, said the incident happened at an animal feed store opposite the school along Aba Road, Sabon Gari area of Fagge Local Government.
