Police launch investigation in Aba Midnight fire

The Abia State Command of the Nigeria Police Force on Sunday said that it launched investigation into the Saturday’s midnight fire that engulfed several shops and goods worth millions of naira in Nkwo Ngwa market in Aba South Local Government Area of Abia State.

The State Police Commissioner, Mr. Chris Ezike who came in the company of the Aba Area Commander, ACP Peter Okpara and team of other senior police officers under his command also met the Senior Special Adviser to the Governor of the state (Okezie Ikpeazu); Captain Awa Udensi (rtd) at the scene of the incident.

Speaking to newsmen after taking a tour of the market, Ezike who lamented the loss disclosed that the reason the traders recorded such huge loss was because of the kind of business which they do, stating that materials found in the timber market were potential inflammable materials.

The police boss stated that they have launched investigation with sister agencies to unravel the cause of the fire incident and used the opportunity of the visit to call on the traders to be calm, peaceful and law-abiding.

Infonet9ja.com gathered that over 150 shops were engulfed and over 200 traders affected in the inferno.

It was gathered that the fire incident which started at about 8pm lasted several hours before it could be put out by some of the callers to the scene and through the efforts of officials of the personnel of the State Fire Service who were on hand to stop the fire from spreading to other parts of the market.

It was tears and lamentations among the victims of the fire incident who were laying curses upon who inflicted such damage on them.

They feared that they may not easily recover from the shock of the incident. This is even as many of them stated that they had gone to borrow money from various banks to support their businesses especially as the Yuletide comes close.

Some of the affected traders who could not hold back their tears said that their loss run into millions and lamented the bad situation of the road leading to the market which prevented the Fire Servicemen from arriving the scene in record time, causing them to suffer more damage.

Prince Okechukwu Lawrence, chairman of the market confirmed that there was no loss of live, but regretted the level of damage suffered by the traders as a result of the inferno.

Lawrence while debunking that the traders attacked personnel of the fire service, disclosed that hoodlums capitalized on the incident to loot from other shop owners in the market.

He appealed to Abia State governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu to come to their aid as many of them have lost their means of livelihood through the inferno;

The Senior Special Adviser to Abia State Governor on Security, Captain Awa Udensi (rtd) who was also at the scene expressed the regret over the loss, adding that the state government would see ways of coming to the assistance of the affected victims.

Awa assured the traders that their plight would be tabled to the Governor of the state as soon as he (Ikpeazu) arrives the state from his trip.

Some residents who spoke to our reporter described the incident as unfortunate, stressing that they were all afraid that the damage could be much going by the rage of the inferno.

They thanked the commissioner of police for showing concern and prayed that efforts would be put in place to check a recurrence of such ugly incident.