•The burnt building
One of the traders whose goods were destroyed after a fire razed the upper floor of a one-storey building on Somoye Osundairo Street in the Computer Village market, Ikeja, Lagos State, Ebere Daddymuonso, has lamented the loss of goods worth over N150m.
Our correspondent who visited the scene of the incident yesterday learnt that the fire began at about 2 a.m., after traders had closed for the day, reports The PUNCH.
Our correspondent observed that all the rooms serving as shops for laptop dealers were completely razed, with the intensity of the fire causing the roof of the building to cave in.
It was gathered that emergency responders had to force their way into the building through the back door, as the premises were under lock and key when they arrived at the scene.
While emergency responders said the cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained, sympathisers at the scene suggested it might have been caused by an electrical surge following an erratic power supply the previous day.
The Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, had earlier stated that goods worth millions of naira were destroyed in the incident.
He added that a firefighter sustained injuries during the operation and was treated at the scene.
Oke-Osanyintolu said, “Upon the arrival of the LRT at the incident scene by 2:15 a.m., it was observed that a fire outbreak had occurred in a one-storey commercial building housing computer and accessories dealers in Computer Village, Ikeja.
“Responders encountered active flames and dense smoke, indicating intense combustion within the structure. The building is primarily used for the storage and sale of computers and accessories, and the high volume of combustible materials contributed to the rapid spread of the fire.
“One Lagos State firefighter sustained minor injuries during the operation and was administered first aid on site by LASAMBUS. All goods and properties worth millions of naira stored in the building were destroyed by the inferno.”
A security guard at the market, who identified himself as Ibrahim, said he attempted to contact one of the traders when the fire broke out, but the call was not answered.
Speaking with our correspondent at the scene, Daddymuonso said he was alerted to the fire shortly after midnight, but by the time he arrived, his goods and those of other traders had already been destroyed.
He said, “My name is Mr Gbadimoso Ebere. I am one of the occupants of the building that was burnt last night. When I received a call around 1:30 a.m. informing me of the fire outbreak, I tried to get here but could not. By 5:30 a.m., I left home to see if there was anything I could salvage, only to arrive and find that everything had been completely razed.
“The entire upper floor of the building has 13 offices mainly occupied by laptop importers. All the shops were burnt. None of us was able to salvage anything.
“I lost goods worth over N150 million, and some people may have lost even more. These items are worth millions, if not billions of naira.”
He appealed to the government and humanitarian agencies to come to the aid of the affected traders.
“I am completely heartbroken, just like my neighbours. We really need help from the government. We do not know where to start. We lost our goods and shops. We are pleading with the government to please come to our aid and assist us,” he said.
Reacting, the Iyaloja of the market, Abisola Azeez, commended emergency responders for preventing the fire from spreading to nearby buildings.
She also appealed to the state government to support the affected traders in recovering from their losses.
“They were very proactive. A building in the middle of the market was on fire, yet they prevented it from escalating to other buildings within the same compound. That is commendable.
“We are appealing to the government to come to their aid because what they have lost runs into billions of naira. There is no way they can recover on their own without government support.
“We do not want them to go out of business or suffer further hardship after losing their livelihoods. We are appealing to the state governor to please help them,” Azeez said.
Meanwhile, LASEMA stated that due to the intensity of the fire, a structural assessment would be conducted on the affected building.
