By Daud Olatunji

ABEOKUTA—FIRE outbreak caused confusion in the banking hall of one of the new generation banks in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, yesterday.

Vanguard gathered that the incident occurred few hours after the bank commenced operations for the New Year.

The scene of a fire outbreak at Sholanke Street, Iyana-Ipaja, off Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, Lagos.

It was gathered that a section of an annex of the bank was affected by the fire, reportedly caused by a power surge from the bank’s server room.

A staff of the bank, who craved for anonymity, said: “The fire emanated from our server room. A power surge caused this. As a result, the bank’s staff and customers had to rush out of the banking hall through the emergency exit. Nobody was injured or died.”

An eyewitness, Olaleye Taiwo, told newsmen that the fire forced customers and staff out of the bank, while business transactions was disrupted.

He said: “I was about to receive cash from the cashier across the counter when I heard a noise. At first, I thought armed robbers were outside the banking hall. Then, I discovered smoke coming from the top floor of the bank.

“Everybody, including the bankers had to rush out of the banking hall to save their lives. We escaped through the emergency exit of the bank.” Taiwo said.

The men of the Ogun State Fire and Safety Service put out the fire and prevented it from spreading to other parts of the bank.

Adebambo Adesanya, the Deputy Director, Ogun State Fire and Safety Service, said the fire service received a call from the bank and responded immediately.