A female hostel of the Federal University Gashua, Yobe state was gutted by fire on Saturday, destroying a complete block of 29 rooms accommodating about 301 students.
Also, 300 student of Geography Department identified as Shamsiya Murtala was confirmed dead in the inferno and three other students that sustained injuries were treated and discharged from the general hospital, Gashua, Blueprint reports.
The incident which occurred in the afternoon sent shockwaves across the university community, which prompted swift and immediate response efforts from the emergency services and the university authorities.
The Vice-Chancellor of the university ,Professor Maimuna Waziri, on behalf of the Senate, management, staff and students expressed deep sympathy to the affected students and their families over the unfortunate incident and has directed a thorough investigation into the cause of the fire outbreak.
Shamsiya Murtala
Meanwhile, the Vice-Chancellor and Chairman of Senate has directed for the immediate closure of the
University due to escalating students’ protest on campus.
A statement signed by the University’s Registrar, Dr. Abubakar Mamuda, directed all students to vacate the
Campus premises immediately and return to their homes or safe location untill further notice.