From Timothy Olanrewaju Maiduguri
No fewer than 620 shelters have been destroyed by fire at an Internally Displaced Persons’ (IDPs) camp in Maiduguri, capital of Borno State.
It was learnt that the fire broke out at a section of the Custom House IDPs’ camp located at the city outskirts, at about 8:30am yesterday.
Witnesses said the fire started from a shelter and spread to adjoining accommodation.
They said the fire was put off minutes later by some IDPs with combined team of firemen and emergency workers, but with a child caught up in the inferno
Camp manager, Usman Mohammed confirmed the incident. He said the second outbreak came nearly four hours later as people scampered for safety. He said investigation to the cause of the fire outbreak, the extent of the damage and statistics of affected households have commenced.
Officials of the national and state Emergency Management Agencies could not be reached for comment as at press time.
