In the popular Itam Market in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, a fire has destroyed eight lockup shops with goods worth millions of naira.
The fire, the cause of which was unknown, was said to have started in a section of the market where there was no electrical connection.
On Thursday, a visit to the market revealed that two of the eight affected shops had been demolished before the state fire department arrived.
The fire, which began around 9 p.m., did not spread throughout the market because youths mobilized and evacuated goods from many shops before the fire was put out.
Mr John, who sells stationery, was one of the victims who said he lost everything in the fire.
“I left the market around 7 p.m., and by nine p.m., one of the security men called to tell me that my shop had burned down,” he said. When I returned, I was devastated to see that everything in my shop had been destroyed.
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“The fire department was here when I arrived, but I couldn’t even remove a pin from the shop,” she said, adding, “Honestly, I don’t know where to begin.”
Another victim, Aniekpeno Akra, said he learned about the fire from a phone call, but when he arrived at his shop, he discovered the damage had already been done.
Elder Godwin Ebong, Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the market’s Traders Forum Association, said that when the union learned of the fire, it immediately contacted men from the fire service, who arrived within 45 minutes of the blaze breaking out.
He went on to say that the union had reached out to both the local and state governments for assistance for the affected shop owners because of their quick response.
He also stated that preliminary investigations had not revealed the cause of the fire, despite the fact that no electrical wiring was present in the affected area.
“We cannot determine the cause of the fire outbreak until now,” he said. We conducted an internal investigation but were unable to locate the source. We’re still hoping to learn more about what happened in a few days.”
“I called the fire service personnel,” said Mr Idorenyin Raphael, Governor Udom Emmanuel’s Special Assistant on Trade and Investment. They were on the ground in 20 minutes to put an end to the situation.”
