NO less than 620 makeshift houses have been completely destroyed by fire at Custom House Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in the outskirts of Maiduguri metropolis, Borno State.
A child also lost his life while the other two old women sustained injuries during the inferno. It was gathered that the fire outbreak which started around 8:30 am.on Wednesday consumed almost all parts of the camp, before it was put off by the combined efforts of the IDPs, security agents and officials of the federal and state fire service.
Four hours later, another fire breaks out in another part of the camp destroying many of the makeshift tents. Also read: ‘Explosion injures 7 children in Kaduna’ The Camp Manager of Custom House, Mallam Usman Mohammed told Journalists that the cause of the fire was not yet known, however, the investigation had commenced to find out the actual cause of the fire He said the affected IDPs are from Dikwa Local Government and currently in dire need of assistance.
When contacted, Acting Zonal Coordinator, National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, Ishaya Chinoko, said that emergency response had been dispatched and initial needs assessment conducted. He added that relief would soon be provided to the affected victims. The Custom House camp has a total of 14,250 displaced persons from three local government areas of Dikwa, Mafa and Bama.
