Fire guts lace fabrics shops in Onitsha market

From Emeka Chiaghanam, Awka

A devastating fire on Tuesday morning, razed a two-story building that housed the Onitsha Main Market Police Station and shops selling lace fabrics. The inferno destroyed goods worth millions of naira.

Onitsha Main Market, famed to be the biggest market in West Africa, hosts a large population of traders, who are mainly importers of goods, and who also deals in varied products.

Firefighters from Anambra Fire Service battled for hours to contain the inferno as some of the traders salvaged their goods while others watched in tears as the fire consumed their shops.

Spokesman of Anambra Police Command, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, said firefighters and policemen were on ground to control the fire and prevent looting.

The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained as at the time of filling this report, according to some traders who raised the alarm over the fire, the incident started near the Gwongworo section of the large market.

The White House is the office of the leaders of the market, an expansive two-story building that houses several offices, and halls for meetings on the first and second floor, while the ground floor hosts shops.

However, the State Fire chief, Mr Martin Agbili, is yet to react to the unfortunate incident as efforts to get his reaction was unsuccessful as he neither answered calls nor replied the text messages sent to his cell phone.

On Monday evening, Mr Agbili had confirmed with our correspondent that his men had put out fire outbreak at the Enugu-Agidi Junction opposite Zam Zam Hotel along Enugu-Onitsha Expressway on a lorry carrying foreign woods.

The fire emanated during a road crash as the driver of the lorry lost control of his steering. No life was lost.