A fire outbreak at Muna Garage Internally Displaced Persons’ (IDPs) camp in Maiduguri, Borno State, has left many people homeless.
The inferno, which occurred around 11:00 am on Monday, also destroyed food items and other valuables in the thatched houses.
An eyewitness said the fire, which raged for almost an hour, was fueled by the dry wind of the harmattan season.
One of the IDPs, Modu Zarami, said the actual cause of the fire and the number of people affected could not be ascertained, “but the damage is too much”.
“Nobody can say how the fire started, we only saw flames going up, and before anyone could do anything, it had destroyed a large section of the camp.
“The fire had destroyed my three bedroom thatch house, two sacks of maize, one bag of millet and a grinding machine.
“It’s all that the life of my family depends on. I have two wives and five children,” he said.
Another 70-year-old victim, Modu Maina, an indigene of Bale in Mafa LGA said he lost property worth over 100,000 to the fire.
“I thanked God that no life was lost but, I don’t know where to start, I have a large family and the entire house has been razed, not even our clothes we recovered,” he said.