The hill town of Jos in central Nigeria was in mourning today as news broke of the death of at least 23 school girls, burned alive in their school hostel.
"The whole state has been thrown into mourning. Initially there was disbelief. Now it is just grief," Mr Harris Dawurang, the spokesman for Plateau State government told AFP from his office in Jos.
Most offices were shut and would remain so for the rest of the week, officials said.
The fire broke out late Monday in a small room at the front of the girls' hostel in the government secondary school, Bwal-Bwang-Gindiri, 60 kilometres (40 miles) outside the Plateau State capital of Jos.
Villagers in Gindiri, alerted by the screams, broke down the door and walls of the hostel and rescued dozens of terrified girls, but were too late for many, witnesses said.
The schoolgirls had been locked into their hostel to prevent them from getting out to meet boys. The practice is widespread in Nigeria, although boys are rarely locked up in this way.
"We have 23 confirmed dead and four critically injured. 11 others are injured but in a better condition," Mr Dawurang said, after a visit to the school.
But reporters and witnesses said the death toll was 30, with 27 having died on the day of the fire and three more in hospital on today.
It is not yet clear what started the fire. A committee of inquiry was due to start work next week after the three-day mourning period, Plateau State Governor Mr Joshua Dariye said.
AFP