A fire on Sunday gutted a section of Kayat Restaurant located along Polo Road in Maiduguri, Borno State.
The incident, which occurred around 11 a.m., caused panic among residents and business owners in the area.
Eyewitnesses told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the fire spread rapidly before it was brought under control by personnel of the Borno State Fire Service, supported by officers from the state police command.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Nahum Daso, confirmed the incident, saying rescue and containment efforts were immediately deployed.
“Our team from the GRA Police Division is currently at the scene, providing support to the Fire Service,” he said.
An eyewitness, Umar Abdullahi, said a large part of the restaurant was already in flames when he passed by.
“The area had been cordoned off. A significant part of the place was still burning, but the fire service workers were doing their best to put it out,” he said.
Another witness, Martina Joseph, said the emergency team controlled the crowd to ensure safety.
“They handled the situation well. People and cars were moved back. From what I saw, only the building and some materials were affected,” she said.
The cause of the fire is yet to be determined, and no casualties had been reported as of the time of filing this report.
Efforts to reach the Federal Fire Service spokesperson in the state, Fati Fali Murtala, were unsuccessful.
NAN recalls that a similar fire incident occurred in March at the Monday Market in Maiduguri, destroying an electronics shop and resulting in losses worth millions of naira.
More details later.
