From Okwe Obi, Abuja

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, has expressed worry over the spate of fire incidents in country, adding that the recent outbreak in Borno State was the height of it.

Aside sympathizing with the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Maiduguri in which 600 shelters were razed, 3,600 of them displaced and 3 lives lost, Farouq said she has activated the National Emergency Management Agency humanitarian response mechanism to ensure that victim are provided with basic items to ameliorate the effects of the fire outbreak.

In a statement by her Special Adviser on Media, Nneka Ikem Anibeze, she said: “I am depressed by the number of fire incidents which have occurred in 2021 alone. Some were accidents while some could have been avoided.

“I pray for the souls of those lost in this fire outbreak while the Humanitarian Affairs Ministry will beef up measures to protect lives and property in the various IDP camps across the country and guard against a reoccurrence.

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“Priority will be given to the vulnerable victims especially women, children and the aged in the distribution of the relief items.

“In addition, food items and basic household materials are being made available to the IDPs.”

Meanwhile, the Director General of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Hajiya Yabawa Kolo explained that that the inferno might have stemmed from a cooking fire that got out of control in one of the tents.

According to her, NEMA and the SEMA are currently collaborating to put measures in place to avoid a recurrence through advocacy and sensitisation in the camps.