A fire outbreak has engulfed the armoury store at Giwa Barracks in Maiduguri on Thursday, triggering loud explosions that sent residents fleeing for safety.
The cause of the inferno, which began around 11:57 pm on Wednesday, remains unknown.
Eyewitnesses described seeing towering flames and hearing successive detonations from the military facility, with buildings miles away shaking due to the intensity of the blasts.
“It was terrifying,” said Yahata Saleh, a resident of nearby Fori. “We thought it was Boko Haram. Everyone ran for their lives.”
Reacting, the Borno State Deputy Governor, Usman Kadafur, has urged residents to remain calm and avoid spreading unverified reports, assuring them that security agencies were investigating the cause of the fire.
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