…We lost over N130m worth of goods—Victims

By Olasunkanmi Akoni

LAGOS—Following the devastating inferno that gutted one commercial storey building at Computer Village, Ikeja Local Government Area of Lagos State, affected traders have sent a SOS to the state governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu for financial support to assuage their losses.

Recall that items worth several million naira were destroyed in the early hours of Tuesday, when the fire gutted the building at Somoye Street, in the Ikeja area of the state.

The incident, which occured past midnight, involved a building, accommodating dealers in computers and accessories in the area.

The entire top floor of the building was razed by the fire. According to reports, the fire was due to electrical surge following the restoration of electricity. There was no casualty recorded in the incident.

Yesterday, when Vanguard visited the scene, scavengers were seen struggling to cart away some of the burnt items.

Affected traders beg Sanwo-Olu

The heartbroken victims of the tragic incident claimed they had lost almost everything they had. They said their losses include cash, personal gadgets, among others.

The victims stressed the urgent need for fire safety measures in densely populated market areas like Ikeja Computer Village.

One of the victims, who newly stocked his shop, Chucks, narrated to Vanguard, “I’m one of of the shop owners. I am heavily affected by this incident. As a matter of fact, I just uploaded goods on Monday. And, Monday night, Tuesday morning, they were all gone.

“When I rushed down to the scene, I didn’t have access to upstairs. And second, the firefighting guys, their machines are a bit obsolete.“The pipe doesn’t have pressure. They cannot be down stairs here and pump water upwards. So, they had to climb the ladder to get to the fire point.

“So, we are begging Governor Sanwo-Olu to help us by way of compensation. This is one too many. It cannot be too much for Lagos State government. They have the wherewithal. We are taxpayers.

“We pay all our bills. We are begging them to help us and further equip the fire service of the state.

“We are also calling for public assistance. If there’s any way they can help to assauge this calamity caused not by us but by the Ikeja Electricity Distribution, it is welcome.

“We the 12 traders affected upstairs and one downstairs, none saved a single pin.

“To put an estimate on the loss, definitely for me, it’s about N130 million. I deals in laptops. These things are expensive items. We are not talking about other equipment, like personal gadgets. So, it’s massive loss. We don’t know where to start from.”

Another victim, Ebere Chimosor, bemoaned the loss of over N10 million in goods, while also appealing to the governor for financial intervention.

According to him, “I’m one of the shop owners in the burnt building. I’ll just say a few things.

“So, nobody should bring in tribal sentiments here. I am from the eastern part and I do business here. No tribalism here. The only thing we are begging the local and state governments is to come to our aide.

“On Tuesday when this thing happened about 1a.m., the local state fire service, they really did a very marvellous job. But, it was them that really made this whole thing to be less. If not, we would have seen a different story.

Council boss visits scene

Chairman of Ikeja Local Government Area, Akeem Dauda, who later visited the scene, assessed the level of damage done and commiserated with affected traders, assuring them of the council’s support.

He stressed the importance of adhering strictly to safety precautions, particularly in handling electrical installations to prevent future occurrences. (Vanguard)