Fear and uncertainty have continued to spread among parents and guardians at St Winifred’s Secondary School, Ihugh, in Benue State, following three separate fire incidents that destroyed three School’s hostels within six months.
The incidents have left families traumatised and raised serious concerns about student safety in one of the state’s Catholic girls’ institutions.
St Winifred Girls’ Secondary School is located in Ihugh, a small town in Vandeikya Local Government Area of Benue State. It is the first and only girls’ secondary school in the local government area.
For many parents, what initially appeared to be an unfortunate incident has now developed into a frightening pattern that has shaken confidence in the school community.
Parents who once considered the institution a safe environment for their daughters are now struggling with difficult decisions about whether to return their children to school after repeated destruction caused by mysterious fires.
The anxiety began on 29 October 2025, when an entire hostel building belonging to the school was completely destroyed by fire at night while students were having night preparation studies. The cause of the incident was not determined.
However, no lives were lost and only property was affected. At the time, school authorities informed the public about the emergency situation.
Management disclosed that the building had been completely destroyed.
“This is to inform the general public of the emergency situation at St. Winifred Girls’ Secondary School, Ihugh. An entire hostel building was completely destroyed by fire last night while the students were in for night preps,” management announced at the time.
Although authorities indicated that the cause remained unknown despite the scale of destruction, management expressed gratitude that no lives were lost.
The October 2025 incident attracted intervention from the Benue State Government.
Governor Hyacinth Iormem Alia, represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management and Benue State Emergency Management Agency, Sir James Anodoakaa Iorpuu, visited the school after the hostel building was destroyed.
Government officials assessed the scale of damage and announced financial intervention to support recovery efforts.
The Benue State Government donated N20 million. According to officials, N10 million was allocated to school management while another N10 million was designated for students who lost belongings.
At the time, the intervention offered hope as families trusted that stronger preventive measures would be implemented and hoped investigations would identify what went wrong.
They expected improvements in security and emergency response. Few imagined another hostel would burn months later. Even fewer anticipated a third destructive incident.
However, another fire outbreak reportedly occurred roughly a week before 12 May 2026, intensifying concerns among residents and parents.
The anxiety worsened further on 12 May 2026 when another hostel building was razed by fire. The recurrence left residents of Ihugh and surrounding communities searching for explanations while school authorities worked to restore confidence among worried parents.
According to information released by the school management to parents and obtained by LEADERSHIP, the latest incident occurred in the morning after students had returned from break and resumed academic activities in their classrooms.
“With deep concern, we inform the general public of a fire outbreak that occurred this morning, 12th May, 2026, at St. Winifred’s Secondary School, Ihugh,” management stated.
