Fire guts Supreme Court judge’s chambers

Fire on Monday gutted a section of the chambers of a Justice of the Supreme Court, Mohammed Saulawa.

Witnesses said it took the timely intervention of the court’s and the federal fire services to put out the fire suspected to have started in the chambers located on the third floor of the sprawling court complex.

Supreme Court spokesperson, Festus Akande, confirmed the incident to PREMIUM TIMES, but said it was not as serious as speculated on social media platforms.

“Yes, there was a fire that perhaps resulted from an electrical fault in the section of a justice’s chambers of a justice of the court. But the fire is not as serious as they make it appear on social media. From what is being said on social media, it is as if someone went there and set the whole Supreme Court on fire; it is not so,” Mr Akande told PREMIUM TIMES over the telephone.

Mr Akande, who declined to give the identity of the Justice of the Supreme Court whose chambers were gutted by the fire, said the fire outbreak started after staff resumed office on Monday.

Details of the fire incident are still sketchy as of the time of filing this report.

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But PREMIUM TIMES gathered that staff members of the court tried to save some documents from the fire before the arrival of the fire services.

“The fire services responded swiftly. I think they came from Asokoro. If not for their timely intervention, the situation would have been worse. The fire could have extended to other adjoining chambers and other parts of the complex. But the fire service came in quickly to join the court’s fire department, and immediately helped to put out the fire,” a court official who is not permitted to speak to the press on the matter told PREMIUM TIMES.