The demonstration studio of the Mass Communication Department of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State has been consumed by fire.
The cause of the fire, however, has not been disclosed by the university authorities. The fire outbreak took place in the early hours of Sunday. Bentina Matthias, the staff adviser for the Faculty of Social Sciences, the faculty housing the studio, said the fire burnt everything in the studio. There are speculations that it was caused by power surge.
Stella Okunna, Dean of the faculty, noted that the Vice Chancellor visited the location of the incident and an investigation will be carried out to know the exact cause of the fire. Francis Okeke, the officer in charge of Faculty of Social Sciences security unit, said the fire started at about 3:30am on Sunday, but he couldn’t tell exactly what caused the fire.
He added that the Investigation Department of the security unit were on it and would send a report to the Vice Chancellor.
In his words: “We cannot say exactly, because the place has not been in use for a long time. Uche Ebeze, Head of the Mass Communication Department, said there were many equipment in there but everything was consumed.”
He also stated that the unit would make recommendations to the Vice Chancellor to avert a recurrence, adding that a fire service department should be instituted to tackle such cases, regular servicing of fire extinguishers, as well as the use of iron instead of wood for roofs within the university.