No fewer than 50 traders and customers were reported to have sustained severe injuries following a gunpowder explosion at the weekly Talata Mafara Market in Zamfara.
Vanguard Newspapers gathered that the explosion occurred at the popular section of the market where locally fabricated guns are sold and repaired.
A resident, Mal Rilwanu Mafara, who spoke to our correspondent on the phone, said the explosion occurred at about 3 pm Tuesday at the area where a blacksmith makes guns and sells gunpowder.
Mafara said some of the victims were taken to Talata Mafara General Hospital while those in critical condition were referred to the Usmanu Danfodio Teaching Hospital (UDUTH) in Sokoto.
He further explained that the Emir of Talata-Mafara Alhaji Bello Muhammad Barmo and the local government council chairman Yahaya Abubakar Yari were among the early callers at the hospital to sympathise with the victims most of whom are responding to treatment.
Meanwhile, when contacted on the phone, Yari expressed sadness over the incident, adding that he directed that the sale and servicing of locally fabricated guns in the market should be stopped immediately.
Zamfara State Commissioner of Police, Muhammad Dalijan, confirmed the number of the injured. He said the Command has since deployed its Anti-Bomb Squad to the explosion scene to assess the situation and restore normalcy.
