Canada has said it will investigate the explosion that caused a fire incident in its High Commission in Abuja, on Monday.
By Emma Ogbuehi
Canada has said it will investigate the explosion that caused a fire incident in its High Commission in Abuja, on Monday.
It also issued a travel advisory to its citizens against nonessential travel to Nigeria, joining the United States and the United Kingdom in doing so.
TheNiche had reported the fire incident at the Canada High Commission in which two persons were feared killed and two others injured.
Shortly after the incident, the Canadian Foreign Minister, Melanie Joly, issued a brief statement on X, mourning the victims of the explosion.
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“We can confirm there was an explosion at our High Commission in Nigeria. The fire is out and we are working to shed light on what caused this situation. I send my heartfelt condolences to the families of the 2 people killed in this tragedy,” Joly said.
The Head of Operations of the FCT Fire Service, Amiola Adebayo, also confirmed the incident, adding that two people were fatally injured in the incident, while about three or four other victims had been rushed to the hospitals.
“Yes, yes, it’s true. We have two fatally injured and the others in the hospital, either three or four,” he reportedly said.
Adebayo, however, did not state the cause of the fire incident or whether the affected victims were foreign expatriates or Nigerian citizens. An eye witness, claimed that two members of staff were killed in the exercise.
Also, the Canada High Commission in Nigeria, said on social media that it had “temporarily suspended operations until further notice”.
It blamed the decision on “the unpredictable security situation throughout the country and the significant risk of terrorism, crime, inter-communal clashes, armed attacks and kidnappings”.
With the travel alert to its citizens, Canada joins the US and UK in warning its nationals on the dangers of insecurity in Nigeria.
