Obi: Fire incidents at Canadian high commission, Samsung office in Abuja concerning

Peter Obi, presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 elections, says the recent fire incidents in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, are “concerning”.

A section of the Canadian high commission caught fire on Monday.

Nkechi Isa, spokesperson of the Federal Capital Territory Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), said a diesel tank explosion was responsible for the fire incident.

She also said two persons died in the incident while one other person was critically injured.

In a separate incident, one of the Samsung electronic retail stores in Abuja was also gutted by fire on Monday night.

The fire was said to have been caused by careless welding activities near a pile of empty, combustible cartons.

In a statement on his official X page, Obi expressed sympathy over the deaths of the two persons in the Canadian high commission incident the loss of properties in the Samsung outlet fire outbreak.

He also called on the relevant authorities to carry out investigations into the incidents.

“The reports of the two fire incidents that rocked the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, yesterday, are very concerning,” Obi wrote.

“First, a fire incident was reported at the Canadian High Commission, Abuja, where about 2 people reportedly lost their lives, and next was the Samsung office at the Banex Junction in Wuse 2, Abuja, where goods worth millions of naira have been destroyed.”

“While I urge the government and the relevant agencies, to carry out investigations into the causes of the fire incidents, I send my sincere sympathies to the Canadian High Commission @CanHCNigeria over this sad occurrence.

“I also commiserate with the business owners at the Samsung Office in Abuja who have lost a fortune to the inferno.

“These are very challenging times, but I encourage them not to despair. May God grant eternal rest to the dead, heal the wounded, and comfort the afflicted.”