Borno IDP camp fire destroys over 100 thatched houses in Monguno, with no casualties recorded, according to the state police command

A fire outbreak has destroyed more than 100 thatched houses at the Water Board Internally Displaced Persons camp in Monguno, Borno State, the Borno State Police Command confirmed on Saturday.

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The Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Nahum Daso, said the fire broke out at about 4:30 pm on Friday and was reported to the Monguno Police Station by the camp chairman, Bukar Mbati.

“The inferno engulfed over 100 thatched houses, destroying foodstuffs and various household items,” Daso said in a statement to the News Agency of Nigeria.

According to the police, personnel from the State Fire Service, the police, and other security agencies deployed at the camp worked together to bring the blaze under control.

A patrol team led by the Divisional Police Officer, Supol Monguno, later visited the scene for an on-the-spot assessment of the damage.

Daso confirmed that no lives were lost and no injuries were recorded, describing the outcome as a relief despite the scale of destruction.

He added that photographs of the affected areas had been taken, while the total value of the damaged property was yet to be determined.

Investigations are ongoing to establish the cause of the fire.

The incident comes amid growing concern over fire outbreaks in displacement camps and informal settlements across the North-East.

Only days earlier, a separate fire razed 76 temporary shelters housing displaced persons from Borno State in Ngamma village, Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe State.

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In that incident, one person sustained injuries and was hospitalised, while several families lost livestock, food supplies and other essential household items, underscoring the persistent vulnerability of displaced communities.