Fire guts Supreme Court in Abuja, affects office of justices

A section of the Supreme Court complex at the Three-Arm-Zone in Abuja was on Monday, gutted by fire.

While the cause of the inferno has not been ascertained, it was gathered that the development which started at about 7 o’clock in the morning, caused panic amongst staff members of the court who were seen scamparing for safety.

It was also gathered that the fire engulfed a side of the judges’ chamber of the apex court, thereby affecting three offices, including that of Justice Mohammed Saulawa, before it was eventually put off.

Though the court is yet to offer an official statement on the development the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Police Command has said officials are investigating the cause of the fire outbreak.

The authorities also said that the situation was put under control by the efforts of police officers and firefighters who immediately rushed to the scene to take care of the situation.

However, the Police command in it’s own statement said only two chambers belonging to two judges were affected by the fire.

Police spokesperson for the FCT Command, SP Josephine Adeh, said that the properties destroyed during the outbreak were yet to be ascertained as of the time of filing this report.

“On September 25, 2023, at about 7 am there was a fire incident at the Supreme Court. The situation is under control, and the fire service and police officers are all on the ground.

“Only two chambers of two judges were affected, at the moment properties destroyed yet to be ascertained. The cause of the fire is still being investigated by appropriate authorities, and further information will be communicated later,” Adeh clarified.

According to media reports, the inferno at the supreme court is the latest of many that have affected government offices in Abuja.

Recall that in May 2023, fire gutted some parts of the Nigerian Air Force Base located along Airport Road in the FCT.

Also in February 2022, there was a fire incident at the Ministry of Finance building in Abuja.

In May 2020, a fire burnt a part of the Nigerian Postal Service building in the FCT.

A month before that incident, a building housing the office of the accountant-general of the Federation was gutted by fire.

Meanwhile, in 2018, the Federal Fire Service said Nigeria lost about N5 trillion to fire incidents in four years.

In another story, The Joint Task Force (JTF) of Operation Hadarin Daji in Zamfara State, has reportedly rescued seven more female students of the Federal University of Gusau (FUGUS), making the total number of rescued students to 13.

Recall that a good number of students were on Friday last week, kidnapped by bandits afterwhich an operation by Nigerian security agencies led to the rescue of six of the kidnapped students, same day.

Explaining how the seven students were freed, Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency expert in the Lake Chad region, said the seven students were rescued alongside three male workers of Gupran Engineering Services Ltd.

The freed students are Rukayya Sani Batola, Merry Monday, Maryam Salawuddeen, Salamatu Jummai Dahiru and Fiddausi Abdulazeez.

Others include Amamatullahi Asabe Dahiru, Ketura Bulus, Felicia Sunday, Jamila Ahmad, Aisha Aminu Ujong as well as Mariya Abdulrahman Usman, Usaina Abdulrahman and Saadatu Aminu Abubakar.

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