A portion of the residence of prominent Islamic Cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi in the Kaduna State capital has been gutted by fire.
The incident, which occurred on Saturday afternoon, affected an Islamiyya school located inside the compound along Alimi Road in the Kaduna metropolis.
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However, the cause of the fire incident could not be ascertained as of the time of publishing this report.
Tukur Mamu, the media consultant to Gumi, confirmed the incident via a statement.
“This is to confirm a fire outbreak in Sheikh Dr. Ahmad Gumi’s residence. While the cause of the fire which lasted for about four hours has not yet been ascertained, we can confirm that no life was lost,” the statement reads.
“Contrary to media reports, the fire did not affect the second part of the large building where the Sheikh and his family resides.
“For clarity, part of the big edifice, an upstairs in the main entrance, [houses] a female secondary school, Khulitul Banat Girls College, which was founded by Gumi, while the Sheikh stays with his family in large duplexes at the inner part of the house.
“The side that was completely destroyed by the fire is upstairs of the Girls College. The well-equipped laboratory, computer sections (with about 50 computers) and 4 classrooms all in the upstairs of the building were all destroyed by the fire. The source of the fire is not yet known.”
An eyewitness told Channels Television that they suddenly saw a cloud of thick smoke coming out of the building just very close to the gate, forcing neighbours to fetch water to put out the fire. Officials of the Kaduna State Fire Service later rushed to the house and successfully put out the fire, stopping it from spreading to the entire compound.
See photos from the scene below:
