Hemp smokers blamed as fire razes classrooms in Niger school

A block of classrooms at Limava Day Secondary School in Minna, Niger State went up in flames on Thursday evening.

The fire was said to have been set by suspected ganja smokers.

The fire was quickly brought under control by firefighters from the Niger State Federal Fire Service.

Eyewitnesses reported that a group of young boys would often gather on the school premises to smoke ganja.

Ibrahim Mohammed, one of the witnesses, described how the fire started.

“These boys always come here to smoke ganja, and in this Harmattan season, things catch fire easily.

“Yesterday, they dropped a burning butt in a classroom, which ultimately caused a fire,” Mohammed said.

He further added, “One day, I and some colleagues were here for an event and we saw these guys smoking. When we were leaving, we moved in a group to avoid any confrontation with them. This fire outbreak may have been caused by their careless actions.

School principal Datti Dauda confirmed the incident and said that he was alerted by a neighbour.

“I got a call from our neighbour, the headmaster, who told me there was a fire in the school. I immediately contacted the fire service and they took immediate action to extinguish the fire,” Dauda said.

Although the exact cause of the fire is unclear, Dauda ruled out electrical fault as the trigger.

“There is no electrical connection in that part of the building. I suspect that the fire might have been caused by some neighbors or intruders, as the school premises are encroached upon,” he said.

Given the cost of repairing the destroyed planks and other materials, Douda estimated the damage at more than 1.5 million euros.

A senior fire service official, who spoke to PUNCH Online, lauded the quick response of his team.

“One of our officers raised the alarm, and we deployed immediately. It took us less than five minutes to reach the spot and extinguish the fire,” he said.

Authorities have urged residents to remain vigilant, especially during the harmattan season, to prevent similar incidents in the future.