Intense heat triggers explosions at Maiduguri Army barracks
By Idun Maximus
The military has blamed excessive heat as responsible for the midnight explosions at the ammunition storage facilities in the army barracks in Maiduguri.
Anxiety gripped residents as heavy sounds of explosions from Giwa Barracks of the Nigerian Army in Maiduguri, reverberated across the city at about 11:30pm on Wednesday till the early hours of Thursday.
The fire and thick smoke billowing from the barracks also exacerbated anxiety and confusion.
The new Theatre Commander, military Joint Task Force Northeast, Operation Hadin Kai, Maj Gen Abdulsalam Abubakar on Thursday said intense heat triggered the fire outbreak that caused explosions at the ammunition storage facilities.
“The explosion was due to the intense heat currently prevailing in Borno and other regions of the country, which had a direct impact on the storage facility,” he announced.
He said the incident caused widespread panic among the local populace.
He explained that collaborative efforts of military fire fighters, the Federal Fire Service and the Borno State Fire Service Department and various fire-fighting vehicles from security agencies, put out the fire.
Gen Abubakar said residents within the immediate vicinity were also relocated from the area to prevent any harm to the public.
He promised the army will conduct a “comprehensive review” of all its storage facilities to mitigate the effect of the current high temperature being experienced.
Borno has been experiencing excessive heat in the last one week as temperature soars to about 46 degree Celsius.
