14 persons were burnt to death with 1,250 shelters destroyed in a fire outbreak in Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in Ngala Local Government Area of Borno State.
The fire reportedly broke out around 2:15pm on Thursday.
Yabawa Kolo, chairman of the Borno State Emergency Management Agency(SEMA), said the apartments of the IDPs were destroyed in the inferno.
“Today a gigantic fire outbreak engulfed thousands of temporary shades of IDPs living in IS Camp in Ngala LGA. 1250 houses were burnt to ashes, 14 lives were reportedly lost, 15 persons sustained various degrees of injuries and properties including food stuffs worth thousands of Naira were also lost,” he told reporters.
“In this present economic quagmire coupled with the sad realities of COVID-19 pandemic these people need our prayers and support in kind or in cash more than ever before. Government, well meaning Nigerians and NGOs should come to their aid as a matter of urgency.”
When contacted, Hajiya Yabawa Kolo, Chairperson of SEMA, described the incident as “unfortunate” noting that it came at a time when the state was faced with another humanitarian challenges of preventing COVID-19.
Kolo said that a team of the agency would conduct on the spot assessment to ascertain level of damages incurred as a result of the fire incident with a view to providing immediate humanitarian support to the affected victims.
She said that the agency would adopt proactive modalities to prevent future recurrence of the incident.
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered an investigation into the fire outbreak.
In a statement issued by Garba Shehu, Buhari described the incident as “extremely horrifying”.
The president directed the ministry of humanitarian affairs, disaster management and social development to “investigate and report the circumstances leading to the incident, and advise on how a future occurrence will be averted.”
He also directed that urgent needs of affected victims should be provided. He condoled with those who lost their lives while urging injured victims quick recovery.
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