Dr. Festus Akande, the Supreme Court complex spokesperson, has stated that only one chamber of the structure was injured by the fire that broke out on Monday morning.
Akande revealed this on Arise News Channel’s ‘The Morning Show’ shortly after the Court’s Fire Service Department extinguished the fire.
Platinum Tines had reported that a section of the apex court building in Abuja’s Three Arms Zone had been damaged by fire.
The fire broke out between 7:30 and 8:00 a.m., according to Akande, “when staff were already in the office.”
“Further investigations are going on, so we can’t say categorically, but from what we found out, it was an electric fault,” Akande said about the cause of fire.
He added that the staff were able to put off the fire immediately.
“They deployed the fire extinguishers installed on all the floors of the court. They were able to douse the fire even before the court heard from the Fire Service outside the Supreme Court. It didn’t take up to an hour before they put out the fire,” he reiterated.
Akande assured Nigerians that the fire incident will not affect any of the court’s proceedings.
“This incident occurred in a chamber that is equipped with computers and other equipment and also a functional library being used by any Justice that occupies such chamber. Only books, stationery and computer equipment were affected. Even the books are replaceable. We also have an e-library, so the books are still available in soft copies,” Akande stated.