No fewer than 620 houses have been completely destroyed by fire at Custom House IDP camp in the outskirts of Maiduguri Metropolis, it was learnt.
A child lost his life while two other old women sustained injuries during the inferno.
Our correspondent gathered that the fire outbreak which started around 8:30 AM in the morning consumed parts of the camp and was put out by the combined efforts of the IDPs, security agents and officials of the federal and state fire service.
Four hours later, another fire broke out in another part of camp destroying many of the makeshift tents.
According to eye witnesses’ report, some IDPs were able to escape the fire disaster with their belongings and there was no live loss in the second episode but a few sustained minor injuries as a result of the confusion and tension that the gripped the IDPs as nobody expected the fire incident.
In an interview, the Camp Manager of Custom House, Usman Mohammed said the cause of the fire was not yet known, however 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, told newsmen that an emergency response had been dispatched and initial needs assessment conducted.
He added that relief would soon be provided to the affected victims.
It would be recalled that The Custom House camp has a total of 14,250 displaced persons from three LGAs of Dikwa, Mafa and Bama.
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