119 students lost their personal belongings in the inferno.

The Abia State government has said it will investigate the cause of the fire incident which engulfed one of the hostels of the Federal Government Girls College, Umuahia, with a view to punishing anyone or groups found culpable in the act.

According to a statement by his aides, the state governor, Theodore Orji, gave the assurance when he visited the school to see things for himself.

Mr. Orji noted that this was not the first time a fire incident was occurring at the school in recent times; but assured that this would be the last.

The governor sympathised with the students who lost their belongings in the inferno and donated N2 million to the principal of the school, to help the affected students replace their destroyed items. He said that it was his primary responsibility to provide security to the students and thanked God that no life was lost in the incident.

While conducting the governor round the affected hostels, the school principal, Earnest Chukwuka, explained that the fire started while the students were in their classrooms for night prep. He said that all the 119 students residing in the hostel where the fire occurred lost their personal belongings.

Mr. Chukwuka thanked the governor for sending the fire service to put out the fire. He noted that the governor always came to the school’s assistance when needed.

The chairman of the school’s Parents Teachers Association, PTA, G.O.C. Asiegbu, asked the governor to come to the school’s aid again. He explained that with the insecurity situation in the North, many parents from the East have been forced to send their children back home and this had caused an accommodation problem at the school.