John Adoyi, PBA Journalism Mentee
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) is assessing the fire outbreak at Ojoto Market in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where many shops were destroyed. No life was lost.
The incident, which occurred around 10:00 p.m, destroyed about 400 shops and affected over 400 persons.
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According to Mr. Arinze Robinson Akupue, Chairman of the Market, the incident occurred when traders had closed business for the day. The actual cause of the fire outbreak could not be ascertained as at the time of the assessment.
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Federal Fire Service, Nigeria Police Force, SEMA, Nigerian Red Cross were earlier activated to respond to the incident.
Goods and properties worth millions of naira were said to have been destroyed as fire gutted shops at the market located along the the Mile 2 axis of Diobu in Port Harcourt.
Our correspondent gathered that many of the traders had already closed for the day when the incident occurred.
None of the people who spoke about the fire outbreak could say exactly what caused the inferno, but eyewitnesses pointed to the possibility of electric spark when the public power supply was restored.
Speaking to newsmen about the fire outbreak, the Chairman of the market, Akupue, said nothing was removed. He said he was at home a few minutes to 10pm when a security man called him that there was flame coming out of the market.
He disclosed that he contacted the State Fire Service, where he was advised to go to the federal secretariat to inform the Federal Fire Service, as the State Fire Service not equipped to handle it.
Akupue had to drive to the Federal Secretariat for the Federal Fire Service, where he got some support with men to the scene. The fire fighters were however attacked by hoodlums who were seen looting the market amid the raging fire.
According to Akupue, no one was storing petroleum products or cooking in the market as speculated in some quarters. He condemned the attack on fire fighters.
“As we got there, a lot of hoodlums were entering and looting. And they started throwing bottles and stones at the fire truck and their officers, and tried to mob them,” Akupue said.
