As traders and other stakeholders continue to count their losses at the Computer Village market, Ikeja, Lagos State, fire incident, one of the traders whose goods were destroyed in the upper floor of a one-storey building on Somoye Osundairo Street, Ebere Daddymuonso, has lamented losing goods worth over N150m.
Narrating his ordeal to reporters at the incident scene, Daddymuonso said alert about the fire came shortly after midnight, but before getting to the shop, his goods and those of other traders had already been destroyed.
Hear him: “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.”
While appealing to the government and humanitarian agencies to intervene and financially assist the affected traders, the distraught Ebere said: “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.”
Available reports indicated that the fire began at about 2 a.m., after traders had closed for the day and in the process, 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.
Eyewitness accounts said 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.
Though emergency responders hinted that the cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained, sympathisers at the scene said it might have been caused by an electrical surge due to erratic power supply the previous day.
In her reaction, the Iyaloja of the market, Abisola Azeez, commended emergency responders for preventing the fire from spreading to nearby buildings, even as she also pleaded that the state government should support the affected traders in recovering from their losses.
In an emotion ladened voice, Abisola said, “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.”
Also reacting to the incident, Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, the fire destroyed goods worth several millions of Naira, adding that a firefighter sustained injuries during the operation and was treated at the scene.
According to him, “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 Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS). All goods and properties worth millions of Naira stored in the building were destroyed by the inferno.”
Meanwhile, LASEMA has explained given the intensity of the fire, a structural assessment would be conducted on the affected building to determine its safety before allowing business activities to resume
