The Borno State Fire Service has suggested that the intense heat currently experienced in Maiduguri may have sparked the fire outbreak that led to explosions at the Giwa Barracks armoury.
This was contained in an official statement released by the Directorate of Fire Service under the Ministry of Information and Internal Security.
While confirming that the blaze had been extinguished, the statement aimed to reassure the public following the panic caused by the incident.
Residents of Maiduguri were jolted from sleep in the early hours of Thursday as a series of explosions erupted from the Giwa Barracks area, forcing many to flee their homes.
Eyewitnesses described hearing loud booms and seeing red flares illuminating the night sky just after midnight.
“This is to inform the public that on Wednesday, 30 April 2025, at 10.30 pm, there was a report of a fire outbreak at Giwa Barracks Maiduguri.
“The fire incident affected the ammunition facility within the barracks, and some munitions exploded, causing loud bangs.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that the intense heat in Maiduguri around this time of the year may have triggered or conflagrated the fire.
“A combined team of first responders from the Nigerian Army Fire Service, Federal Fire Service and Borno State Fire Service have duly reported at the scene and successfully put out the fire,” the statement read.
The incident comes on the heels of another tragedy just weeks earlier, when an explosion on the Maiduguri-Damboa Road claimed the lives of seven commuters.
