JUST IN: Fire Guts Section of Federal Secretariat in Abuja

By: Sunday Ameh

There was panic on Monday morning after a section of the Federal Secretariat Complex in Abuja was gutted by fire.

The incident reportedly affected a section of the office of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation within the complex.

Eyewitnesses said the fire was first noticed at about 8:20 a.m., with thick plumes of black smoke seen rising from the affected part of the building. The outbreak was reported to have occurred at Section C of the federal secretariat complex.

Staff members and visitors were seen evacuating the area shortly after the incident began, while emergency responders were alerted to the situation.

The media department of the office of the head of service later confirmed the fire outbreak, stating that the incident was limited to Section C of the building.

According to the office, emergency officials were already on ground working to contain the fire and prevent it from spreading to other parts of the complex.

“The fire outbreak is limited to Section C of the building and is currently being attended to by emergency officials,” the office said in a statement.

The cause of the fire had not been disclosed as of the time of filing this report. Authorities are expected to provide further details after preliminary assessments are completed.