A female soldier, identified as Mohammed and two children were injured in an explosion involving a hand grenade at Maraba, Abacha Road, Nasarawa.
The explosion occurred at about 11:46 am on Wednesday, December 24, 2025.
According to an incident report exclusively obtained by PUNCH Online on Friday, a woman brought out the grenade from her apartment during cleaning and asked the soldier to help identify it.
The grenade reportedly detonated while being handled, injuring the soldier and two children belonging to the woman who presented the device.
According to the report, preliminary findings indicated that the device had been left in the apartment three years earlier by a yet-to-be-identified soldier serving in the North East.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that the grenade was brought by a yet-to-be-identified soldier serving in the North East three years ago. The soldier left the grenade in his sister’s room, who is living in the same compound as Mohammed.
“It was further gathered that the sister of the soldier brought out the grenade from her apartment during cleaning and asked the victim to identify if it was useful or should be discarded.
“However, upon receipt of confirmation, the grenade exploded immediately, causing severe injury to Mohammed’s left wrist and other injuries to her body. Also, two children of the woman who brought out the grenade were severely injured,” the report said.
The report said the soldier was first taken to a private hospital in Keffi before being transferred to the Defence Headquarters Medical Centre in Mogadishu Cantonment, Abuja.
She was later referred to Cedarcrest Hospital, Apo, where she is currently receiving treatment.
“The victim was initially rushed to Nagari Allah Private Hospital, Keffi, by her sister and some of her co-tenants but was later evacuated to DHQ Medical Centre, Mogadishu Cantonment, Abuja. Subsequently, she was referred to Cedarcrest Hospital at Apo, where she is presently receiving treatment.
“Importantly, her condition has stabilised as she is responding to treatment. Investigation is ongoing to unravel the circumstances that led to the incident. Relevant pictures attached, ” the report said.
When contacted, the Director of Defence Operations, Maj. Gen. Michael Onoja said he has not been briefed on the matter.
(Punch)
