National Emergency Management Agency NEMA says one hundred and twenty one households have been affected by the fire disaster at Muna El-Badawi IDP camp in Jere local area of Borno.
North East Zonal Coordinator NEMA Alhaji Usman Aji confirmed this to Radio Nigeria in Maiduguri.
Muna El-Badawi camp has a population of over fifty thousand displaced persons from nine local government areas of the state.
The Camp has recorded several fire outbreaks, for instance in 2022 alone, five incidences were reported and in most cases the cause of the inferno is not known.
North East Zonal Coordinator of NEMA Alhaji Usman Aji said preliminary investigation shows that the fire was as a result of cooking in one of the makeshift houses.
According to him, the number of victims affected is not beyond the capacity of the state and local government, explaining that the Agency has been providing monthly intervention to IDPs in the camp.
“We use to go and sensitize those in the camp that they should be very careful with fire especially in this season, much is been said to them about how to take of fire in their camp but unfortunately each year there is fire in that camp” NEMA Coordinator decried.
Speaking to Radio Nigeria, the camp manager Abubakar Uba and the public relations officer of the State Emergency Management Agency Abdullahi Umar said no life has been lost, however two people have sustain injuries including an elderly woman who is still recieving treatment at a medical facility.
Muna camp Chairman Abubakar Gawa who is also a victim and Mohammed.Abba said they have lost all their valuables, calling on state government and other humanitarian agencies to come to their aid.
They also want the state government to decongest the camp and provide them with shelter as they now sleep in open spaces.
Dauda Iliya