By Deborah Nnamdi
A fire outbreak at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja on Wednesday triggered panic and forced the evacuation of lawmakers, parliamentary staff and visitors from a Senate hearing room before the blaze was successfully contained.
The incident occurred at Senate Hearing Room 107 shortly after the Senate Committee on the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), chaired by Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong, concluded the screening of Dr. Zainab Marwa as the North-East representative on the commission’s governing board.
Eyewitnesses said proceedings had barely ended when thick smoke suddenly began billowing from an adjoining kitchen section of the hearing room, causing confusion and prompting lawmakers, aides and guests to hurriedly leave the area.
Videos circulating online showed smoke filling the room as staff and security personnel made frantic efforts to contain the fire and prevent it from spreading to other parts of the building.
According to witnesses, the fire was suspected to have originated from a microwave appliance left switched on in the kitchen area, while others suggested that an electrical spark may have triggered the incident. A witness at the scene was heard pointing to one of the affected appliances and saying, “It was from this gas.”
Efforts to extinguish the blaze were reportedly hampered by inadequate firefighting facilities, with some staff members lamenting insufficient water supply and the apparent absence of readily available functional fire extinguishers.
“The water is not enough,” some of those battling the fire were heard shouting as they worked to contain the flames.
The situation was eventually brought under control through the combined efforts of Senator Ekpenyong, Senator Salihu Mustapha, parliamentary staff and security personnel, who used available resources to douse the fire before it escalated.
Although no casualties were recorded, the kitchen compartment attached to the hearing room sustained visible damage, with some furniture and electrical appliances affected by the blaze.
Normal activities later resumed at the National Assembly after the fire was extinguished.
As of the time of filing this report, authorities had yet to issue an official statement confirming the exact cause of the incident or the extent of the damage. Efforts to obtain comments from Senate spokesperson Senator Yemi Adaramodu were unsuccessful.
