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Careless Welding Blamed For Inferno At Abuja Samsung Headquarters
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Fire Service has disclosed the primary cause of the devastating inferno that engulfed the two-storey Samsung headquarters in Wuse 2, Abuja.
The nightmare unfolded late Monday night and into the early hours of Tuesday, leaving the Samsung headquarters in ruins.
According to Mr. Ibrahim Tauheed, the FCT Fire Service spokesperson, the tragedy was the result of careless welding activities taking place near a pile of empty, combustible cartons within the facility.
While the blaze wreaked havoc, there were no casualties reported, but the two-storey building housing valuable Samsung products was utterly razed.
The prompt action of one Mrs. Ngozi, the owner of Mozini Spa, located behind Furniture House, played a crucial role in alerting the authorities.
She made a distress call to the Fire Service at 7:38 pm, which led to the Asokoro Fire Station being the first to reach the scene at 7:43 pm.
However, the firefighters encountered a hostile crowd of individuals who began pelting their fire truck with stones, posing a significant challenge.
To ensure the safety of the firefighters and their equipment, DSF Ahmed Katsina, the leader of the crew, directed the driver to take an alternate route to Ahmadu Bello Way and alerted the police control room.
The arrival of Nigeria Police personnel eventually led to the dispersal of the unruly crowd, allowing the firefighters to initiate their efforts.
Unfortunately, the delay caused the fire to intensify and spread throughout the building.
Despite the daunting circumstances, diligent efforts were made to prevent the flames from spreading to nearby structures and the adjacent filling station.
Many had feared the fire’s potential to engulf other buildings and the filling station, but with the combined efforts of multiple stations and agencies, this catastrophic scenario was averted.
The fierce blaze continued for over six long hours, from 7:38 pm on November 6th until 01:37 am on November 7th, before it was finally brought under control.
Notably, both the Federal Fire Service and FCT Fire Service maintained one station each on standby until the morning.
Engr. Zacchaeus Adebayo, the Acting Director of FCT Fire Service, closely monitored the operation from the beginning until the blaze was finally subdued.
He commended the firefighters for their unwavering commitment and pledged to enhance operational conditions promptly.
In this trying time, the unity and dedication of the firefighting teams and the support from various agencies played a crucial role in minimizing the extent of the disaster.
By Our Reporter
The National Productivity Centre, NPC organized the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) 2025 Productivity Club Quiz Competition, which brought together students from selected secondary schools in Abuja.
The event, held at the Newton Park hotel, Zone 4, Wuse, Abuja on Thursday, March 6, aimed to test participants’ knowledge on productivity and its concepts.
The competition featured students from eight secondary schools in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT including: Government Secondary Schools Karu, Wuye, Apo Resettlement, Byazhin, Jabi, and Kurudu; as well as Government Day Secondary Schools Karu and Dutse Alhaji, all in the FCT.
In his opening remarks, the Director-General, Hon. Dr. Baffa Babba Dan’Agundi welcomed participants and observers, highlighting the aim of the programme.
Dr. Dan’Agundi said: “This unique programme is targeted at bringing young students together to showcase their knowledge of productivity they have acquired over the years, through the Productivity Coaching and Mentoring (PCM) Programme”.
Explaining further, he added that “Productivity Coaching and Mentoring Programme is an arm of the Productivity Awareness Campaign programme designed to take productivity messages to secondary schools to drive their productivity consciousness and introduce them to basic Productivity improvement tools and techniques, that would guide them on how to improve their productivity in their academic pursuit”.
The Executive Secretary, FCT Secondary Education Board, who was represented by Mr. Henry Sunday Mamman commended the Centre for impacting productivity knowledge to the students. He also encouraged the students to use the knowledge acquired to enhance their overall performance.
After a keenly contested finale, the quiz competition came to a thrilling conclusion with GDSS Dutse Alhaji emerging as the overall winner.
The second and third positions were secured by GSS Karu and GSS Byazhin, respectively.
The event was graced by distinguished guests, including the Director-General, National Productivity Centre, and his team of Directors, as well as Mr. Henry Sunday Mamman, who represented the Executive Secretary of FCT Secondary Education Board.
Hajia Maimuna Musa Adaji, Director/HOD Corporate Affairs and Information, delivered the Vote of Thanks.
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Thursday quizzed the immediate-past Minister for Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy Ohanenye, for her alleged roles in the misappropriation, violation of procurement process and diversion of public funds of ₦138.4m in the course of disbursing the 2023 budgeted funds for the Ministry.
According to authoritative sources, the ex-minister arrived at the Commission’s headquarters around 11am on Thursday and faced interrogators on her alleged involvement in the fraud.
The sources claimed that investigations by the EFCC showed that funds donated for the funding of P- Bat Cares for Women Initiative were diverted for her self-enrichment.
She reportedly has not been admitted to administrative bail, as the sources added that investigations are still ongoing.
Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye was one of the ministers President Bola Tinubu relieved of their duties in October 2024.
She was appointed as the Minister of Women Affairs by Tinubu on August 21, 2023.
A Bill for an Act to provide for the establishment of an Independent Authority for the registration, regulation, and funding of political parties in Nigeria has scaled second reading in the House of Representatives.
The bill seeks to establish a dispute tribunal and regulate the funding of political parties as well as utilisation of the funds.
The bill, which was sponsored by the Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas, and another lawmaker, Marcus Onobun, further seeks to ensure transparency and a stable democracy.
At the moment, there are 19 registered political parties in Nigeria. The roles to be performed by the new independent authority are currently the responsibilities of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The independence and neutrality of INEC have been questioned by many including former President Goodluck Jonathan and former INEC Chairman Attahiru Jega, who decried the influence of political interference on the appointments of electoral commissioners.
“The electoral commission must be fully independent and we must have credible people. Political leaders who are so domineering and over-pressuring you (INEC staffers) to do what is wrong should resign and leave,” Jonathan said at a Yiaga event recently.
Similarly, Jega said, “There is political interference in the appointment or removal of electoral commissioners and other election officials.”
Bishop Isaac Idahosa, the 2023 Vice Presidential Candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), also lamented that nobody puts INEC in check.
Meanwhile, INEC chairman Mahmood Yakubu has been pushing for the creation of an electoral offence tribunal.
“A major obstacle to the speedy dispensation of justice in this regard is that electoral offences are not time-bound as is the case with post-election offences through the tribunals. Furthermore, they are solely prosecuted by the Magistrate and State High Courts in the jurisdiction where the alleged offences are committed.
“No priority attention is given to such cases as the courts deal with a variety of other cases. Consequently, electoral offences are carried over from one General Election to another which may sometimes affect the diligent prosecution of the cases.
“It is therefore imperative to renew our call for the creation of the Electoral Offences Tribunal that has a specific jurisdiction and limited timeframe for the speedy dispensation of cases,” he said.