Governor of Kebbi State, Nasir Idris, has rescued about 140 schoolchildren following a fire outbreak at Nooroh-Haq School in Birnin Kebbi on Saturday night.
The governor and members of his convoy were travelling along the road when he observed smoke rising from the school premises. He immediately halted his movement to oversee the evacuation of the pupils to a safer location within the state capital.
Addressing journalists at the scene, Governor Idris said he initially mistook the smoke for burning tyres before discovering it was coming from a school.
“We were just passing by when I saw smoke coming out of the area. At first, I thought it was smoke from burning tyres. But after taking a closer look, I realised it was a school, and we immediately stopped to supervise the evacuation of the pupils.
“We discovered that the school had over 140 pupils, and they were all evacuated to a safer place in the town. We also noticed that there were gas cylinders inside the school, which made it more difficult for the fire service to quench the inferno.”
The governor and his team remained at the premises until the blaze was completely extinguished and even broke their fast at the location.
Idris confirmed that no lives were lost in the incident.
He also directed the immediate setting up of a high-powered committee to investigate the cause and circumstances surrounding the fire outbreak.