By Deborah Nnamdi
A suspected gas explosion is believed to have sparked a wildfire that destroyed numerous vehicles worth millions of naira at the Borno State Mechanical Workshop in Maiduguri.
The workshop, owned by the Borno Express Transport Corporation, is responsible for servicing all government vehicles in its fleet.
The inferno which started at about noon on Monday, caused pandemonium as people scampered for safety, even as men of the fire service who were mobilized to the site made concerted efforts to put off the fire.
Although no life was lost, one of the Fire Service personnel (Names withheld) sustained a minor injury in the process.
This incident is coming barely 24 hours after another mysterious fire razed communities of Wanori and Nguluri in the Konduga local government area of the state. The two affected communities host many Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
The Commissioner of Transport and Energy, Aliyu Buba Bamanga, who was sighted at the scene, declined to comment, as he said, “The Governor is billed to come and see the damage, so I cannot make any statement to preempt what His Excellency, Professor Babagana Zulum would say.”
As of the time this report was filed, the Governor has not yet visited the scene, with smoke billowing from the main building.
