A fire outbreak on Monday morning affected a section of the Federal Secretariat Complex Abuja, triggering brief panic among workers and visitors in the area.
The incident was reported around 8:20 a.m. at Section C of the complex, which houses parts of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.
Eye witnesses said thick plumes of black smoke were seen rising from the affected part of the building shortly after the fire started, prompting some staff members to evacuate near by offices as a precaution.
Officials from the media department of the Head of Service’s office later confirmed the incident, stating that the fire was restricted to Section C and had not spread to other parts of the large government complex.
According to the statement, emergency responders were quickly alerted and were already at the scene working to contain the situation.
“The fire outbreak is limited to Section C of the building and is currently being attended to by emergency officials,” the office said in a brief statement.
Authorities have not yet determined the cause of the fire, and investigations are expected to begin once the situation is fully brought under control.
Emergency teams continue efforts to prevent the blaze from spreading to other sections of the federal government complex.
