The Borno government has presented relief materials to the 1,370 households affected by the fire outbreak at Muna Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in Maiduguri.

Deputy Governor Umar Kadafur visited the camp on Thursday to sympathise with the victims and present the relief materials.

Mr Kadafur urged them to be more careful in handling fire, particularly during harmattan.

He also urged them to stop cooking inside their rooms to minimise such risk.

“You need to be more careful and designate a cooking area far from your tent since there is enough space.

“Government is here to sympathise with you and present this emergency relief of food and non-food items to you before the bigger package after a full assessment,” Mr Kadafur said.

According to him, preparations have reached an advanced stage to relocate the displaced persons back to their ancestral homes.

Speaking on the incident, the director-general of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Mohammed Barkindo, said assessment was still ongoing on the extent of damage.

Mr Barkindo said each affected 1,370 households so far identified would be given a bag of maise flour, mattress, blanket, bucket, cooking oil and condiments.

“This support is for a start before proper intervention after full assessment,” Mr Barkindo said.

The Wednesday fire incident claimed the lives of two children and destroyed structures as well as food items belonging to the displaced persons. 

(NAN)