Panic erupted at the National Assembly on Wednesday after a fire broke out inside a Senate hearing room, forcing lawmakers, parliamentary staff and guests to flee the premises before the blaze was eventually contained.
The incident occurred at Senate Hearing Room 107 shortly after the Senate Committee on the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), chaired by Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong, concluded the screening of Dr. Zainab Marwa as the North-East representative on the commission’s governing board.
Eyewitnesses said proceedings had barely ended when thick smoke suddenly billowed from an adjoining kitchen section of the hearing room, triggering confusion and a hurried evacuation of lawmakers, aides and visitors.
A viral video from the scene captured frantic efforts by staff and security personnel to contain the fire as occupants rushed out of the building for safety.
According to eyewitness accounts, the fire was suspected to have originated from a microwave appliance left unattended in the kitchen area. Some staff members were heard attributing the incident to an electrical spark, while others battled to stop the flames from spreading.
Efforts to extinguish the fire were reportedly complicated by inadequate firefighting facilities, with several voices in the background of the video lamenting insufficient water supply.
“The water is not enough,” some staff members were heard shouting as they struggled to contain the blaze.
Concerns were also raised over the apparent absence of readily available functional fire extinguishers around the hearing room, leaving staff and security operatives to rely on improvised measures in the initial response.
The situation was eventually brought under control through the intervention of Senator Ekpenyong, Senator Salihu Mustapha and parliamentary staff, who joined efforts to douse the flames before they could spread to other sections of the building.
A witness at the scene was heard pointing to one of the affected appliances and saying, “It was from this gas.”
Although no casualty was recorded, the kitchen compartment attached to the hearing room sustained visible damage, with furniture and electrical appliances affected by the fire.
As of the time of filing this report, the Senate had not issued an official statement confirming the exact cause of the incident or the extent of the damage.
Efforts to reach the Senate Spokesperson, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, for comments were unsuccessful.
