Vanguard (Lagos)  Nigeria: NTA Station in Abakaliki Gutted By
Fire  Abakaliki — Mysterious fire yesterday gutted the Nigerian
Television Authority, NTA, Abakaliki, destroying broadcast
equipment and furniture worth millions of naira.  Vanguard
learnt that the fire which started from the studio section of
the complex around 9pm while the station was on air, quickly
spread to other sections and immediately yanked the station off
air.  Many residents who were viewing the station at the time it
went off air later told our correspondent that they were alarmed
over the manner the station went off air, stressing that they
became suspicious that something was wrong.  A distress call was
reportedly put across to the Ebonyi State Fire Service office
located about eight kilometers away but no sooner had they
arrive with a fire truck, said to be half filled with water,
than they ran out of water and had to run back to station to
refill while the devastation by the raging inferno continued.
On their arrival nearly 45 min