By Citizenship Daily
A near tragedy was averted late Wednesday evening when one of the student hostels at the Kano Campus of the Nigerian Law School was gutted by fire.
The incident which occurred at about 7.00pm, barely an hour after the students at the campus had ended their lectures, had consumed the property, books, clothing and other valuables of the occupants of the hostel.
According to eyewitnesses, the actual source of the incident could not be ascertained as of press time.
Sources however stated that both the students and staff of the campus traded blames on the cause of the fire.
While the management blamed the students for using contraband items like pressing iron, boiling ring, among other items, the students blamed the management for their lack of maintenance of the buildings that had lasted several decades with visible signs of dilapidation and lack of maintenance.
The student hostels at the campus, when our correspondents visited, looked very unkept, dilapidated and very old.
Most of the bungalows used as hostels at the NLS campus were houses built when the premises served as Bagauda Lake Hotel constructed over 40 years ago during the late Abubakar Rimi’s administration.
The academicians in the campus live with fears of reptiles, scorpions and rodents.
Some students also complained about electrical faults and dilapidated facilities in most of the buildings at the campus.
Unattended dry grasses littering the campus were also cited as possible cause of the fire.
While the management blamed students for using contraband electrical appliances, the students accused management of negligence of environmental sanitation.
They cited the bushy lawns, dirty drainage, public places, classrooms and lavatories, as well as ignoring the repairs of faulty buildings and infrastructure.
The Deputy Director-General of the Kano Campus of the institution, Dr. Ibrahim Mohammed, was said to have travelled to Abuja, headquarters of the Law School early Thursday morning when our correspondents visited the campus for his reactions.
Also, the Director of Academics, Dr. Precious Ahiarammunnah, could not be reached as she was said to have gone to court.
The Head of Students Affairs, Hajiya Fatima S. Taiga, was said to have gone to make a formal report to the Police. Her subordinate staff said she was not permitted to speak to the press, neither will they speak on the matter.
Some other staff members spoken to by our reporters took the journalists round the campus premises, showing them dilapidated structures at the campus.
