Toheeb Omotayo
A late-night fire outbreak on Friday gutted parts of the Kwara State College of Education, Ilorin, destroying offices and valuable properties.
The PUNCH gathered that the incident occurred around 9:14 p.m. on January 30, 2026, when flames engulfed a building within the college premises, prompting an emergency response from the Kwara State Fire Service.
The affected structure housed offices used mainly as stores, with the fire damaging sensitive materials and causing concern among staff and students.
Prompt intervention by firefighters, however, prevented the inferno from spreading to nearby academic facilities, including laboratories and other buildings on campus.
Confirming the incident in a statement issued in Ilorin on Saturday, the agency’s spokesperson, Hassan Adekunle, said, “On Friday, 30th January 2026, at 21:14hrs, the Kwara State Fire Service responded to a fire outbreak at the Kwara State College of Education, Ilorin, Kwara State.
“The incident involved a building comprising four offices used as stores, out of which three offices were affected by the fire.
“Through the prompt and coordinated response of the firefighters, the Biology Laboratory and other nearby buildings were successfully saved from the fire. Items affected by the fire included documents, files, and journals, while many other important files and records were recovered and saved due to the timely intervention of the fire crew.”
Preliminary findings, according to Adekunle, suggest that the fire was “suspected to have been caused by an unknown person who set undergrowth on fire, which subsequently spread to the building.”
Reacting to the incident, the Director of the Kwara State Fire Service, CFS Alabi Muhammed, advised institutions and members of the public “to desist from indiscriminate bush and undergrowth burning.”
He emphasized the importance of safe vegetation clearing, proper storage of sensitive documents, and the provision of basic firefighting equipment to minimise losses during emergencies.
The PUNCH reports that the state has experienced other recent fire incidents, including one that destroyed property worth millions of naira at Owode Market in Offa on Wednesday. Another occurred in Ilorin’s Irewolede area, reportedly claiming the life of a 73-year-old man, identified as Pastor Awolola, after he allegedly set fire to undergrowth on his farmland.
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