Deadly fire forces Canada to shut down embassy in Nigeria
Two people were killed and two others left severely injured in an explosion at the Embassy of Canada in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, on Monday. Ottawa has temporarily closed the embassy and suspended all operations.
Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said in a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter) that an investigation has been launched into the fire incident at the High Commission in Abuja.
“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 on Monday.
According to a statement from Nkechi Isa, a spokesperson for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Fire Service, published by local media, the explosion was caused by a faulty generator at the embassy.
“One of the power-generating sets was said to be working, while the other one was being serviced. The fire occurred when the tank of diesel in the generator house, containing 2000 liters of diesel, exploded,” The Punch newspaper quoted the emergency service as saying.
“Two of the personnel servicing the generator were fatally injured, and two people survived and are on admission at the National Hospital Trauma Centre with severe burns,” it added.
The Canadian High Commission in Nigeria did not comment on the explosion and instead issued a notice of closure while advising against nonessential travel to Africa’s most populous nation.
“Avoid non-essential travel to Nigeria, including in Abuja, due to the unpredictable security situation throughout the country and the significant risk of terrorism, crime, inter-communal clashes, armed attacks and kidnappings,” it warned.
Earlier this year, gunmen in southeastern Nigeria attacked a convoy of US embassy vehicles, killing two local employees and two police officers.
Washington said on Friday it had “credible information that there is an elevated threat to major hotels in Nigeria’s larger cities” and advised American citizens to reconsider traveling to the country.
The UK, which claims that around 117,000 British tourists visit Nigeria each year, updated its travel advisory to its former colony just a day after the announcement by the US, citing terrorist attacks.
