The cause of the inferno remains unclear at the time of this report. However, eyewitnesses claimed that an electric cable from a nearby high-tension line may have fallen and sparked the blaze, though the claim could not be independently verified.
Firefighters, assisted by local residents, battled the flames, which broke out around midnight, preventing it from spreading to nearby buildings.
Despite their efforts, the fire completely razed several workshops, including those belonging to Mr Tunde Musa and Mr Kasim Abdurazaq.
Speaking in distress, Mr Musa told reporters that he received a phone call shortly after midnight, informing him that his workshop was on fire.
“By the time I arrived, everything had gone up in flames. The firefighters were already on the ground, but there was nothing left to save,” he lamented. “I don’t even know how I feel right now.”
Musa appealed to Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and the Uvwie Local Government Council to assist affected traders to enable them to restart their businesses.
Similarly, another victim, Mr Abdurazaq, whose entire workshop was also destroyed, described the incident as devastating.
“When I got here around 12 a.m., everything was already burnt. Nothing was salvaged — not even my personal items or my customers’ furniture. I don’t know what to tell them,” he said, fighting back tears.
He also called on the government for urgent assistance, saying he had lost everything to the fire.
I don’t know where to start from,” Abdurazaq pleaded.
When our correspondent visited the scene early Friday morning, scavengers were seen rummaging through the debris, while affected traders stood helplessly, surveying the remains of their burnt shops and counting their losses.
The Delta State Fire Service had yet to issue an official statement on the cause of the fire at the time of filing this report.
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