The Kano State Government has announced an immediate ban on the importation of scrap metal, particularly from Nigeria’s North-East region. The ban comes after a bomb explosion that killed five people and left many injured at a metal scrap factory in Hotoro area of Kano metropolis.

The state’s Commissioner for Security and Home Affairs, Ibrahim Umaru, announced the ban at a press conference in Kano on Wednesday.

According to him, preliminary findings showed that the improvised explosive devices used in the attacks were hidden in the scraps believed to be imported from insurgency-hit north east.

He said, “In light of the recent bomb blasts that tragically claimed five lives and injured several others, we have traced the origin of the explosives to scrap materials brought in from the Northeast.

“That region has long been affected by Boko Haram activities, and we cannot afford to take any chances.

“This directive is a preventive measure to protect the lives and property of our citizens. All dealers in scrap materials are hereby instructed to immediately stop importing such items from the Northeast. Anyone found violating this order will face the full weight of the law,” Umaru added.

Umaru, however, emphasized that while the state is not banning the scrap business entirely, it is targeting imports from high-risk zones to prevent the unwitting transportation of dangerous materials. All scrap dealers in Kano have been directed to immediately cease importing such items from the North-East, with strict warnings of legal consequences for non-compliance.