Tina Amanda
Properties worth millions of naira have been gutted by fire at Ojoto market located at Azikiwe/Ojoto round about Mile 2 Diobu Port Harcourt on Thursday night, 13 April 2023.
The cause of the inferno could not be ascertained as the market had closed down for the day before the fire started.
In an interview with our Correspondent, the Chairman of the market, Sir Arinze Akupue, narrated that he was at home about a few minutes to 10 pm when security personnel in the market alerted him that flame was coming out of the market.
According to him, he called some people around the market to assist in quenching the fire. At the same time, he drove to the state fire service, noting that at the state fire service, they advised him to go to Federal Secretariat to inform the Federal fire service that the state fire service could not assist.
Akupue said he drove to the Federal Secretariat, where he informed the Federal fire Service and their Commander approved immediately, and they followed him to the scene.
“On getting to the scene, the market has burnt eight to five per cent, but some hoodlums attacked the fire service personnel to create an unconducive atmosphere enabling them to loot.
“It took the intervention of Azikiwe Divisional Police headquarters officers to rescue the fire service personnel while the fire completely razed the market.
“Over two hundred shops were burnt down, with people not able to pick anything from their shops. Three of my shops were gutted by the fire, and I could not bring out anything”.
The Market Chairman, however, dismissed the insinuation that people cooking in the market were responsible for the fire while calling on the state Government to come to their aid and assist the victims of the incident.
