A fire broke out at the College for Qur’anic Science and Islamic Studies in Rafin Albasa, Bauchi State, which was founded by the renowned Islamic scholar Sheikh Dahiru Usman Bauchi. The fire damaged major structures and essential facilities.
The incident occurred on Sunday evening after academic activities had ended. The cause of the fire remains unknown. Key infrastructure, including classrooms, offices, laboratories, computer rooms, libraries, and staff rooms located on the upper floor, was destroyed.
The College for Qur’anic Science and Islamic Studies, which combines Islamic and Western education, is affiliated with Al-Azhar University in Cairo. Former Vice President Arc commissioned it. Namadi Sambo.
Sayyadi Aliyu Sise Dahiru, Director-General of Education at the Sheikh Dahiru Usman Bauchi Foundation, lamented that the blaze consumed personal effects and teaching materials, including clothing, mattresses, blankets, and other valuables belonging to staff and students. Among the losses were rare Islamic manuscripts owned by Sheikh Dahiru Usman Bauchi, the late Dr Hadi Sheikh Dahiru, the late Ahmad Sheikh Dahiru, and other distinguished scholars. The inferno also destroyed roughly 5,000 library volumes, 240 student mattresses and beds, a 355-metre carpet, 24 wardrobes and lockers, and 300 classroom chairs, alongside many other items.
Leading journalists through the ruins, Sise Dahiru expressed profound sorrow, extended sympathy to the college community, and thanked Almighty Allah that no lives were lost. He also commended the Bauchi State Fire Service for battling the flames for more than three hours.
Confirming the extent of the damage, Fire Service spokesman Mohammed Labubakar listed the destroyed property: about 5,000 library books, 250 mattresses and beds, a 355-metre carpet, 24 wardrobes/lockers, 300 chairs, and substantial food supplies—60 bags of rice, 25 bags of beans, 12 jerrycans of palm oil, 13 jerrycans of groundnut oil—along with 1,583 sets of student clothing, 7,228 notebooks and textbooks, and numerous student credentials.