In the early hours of Tuesday, a section of the Onitsha Market in Anambra State was engulfed in an inferno that destroyed goods worth millions of naira. According to reports, the most affected block is a two-storey building housing the Onitsha main market Police Station and shops selling lace fabrics.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, firefighters battled for hours to contain the inferno as some of the traders salvaged their goods while others watched in tears as the fire consumed their shops.
Spokesman of Anambra Police Command, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, said firefighters and policemen were on the ground to control the fire and prevent looting.
Efforts to get the reaction of the Director, of Anambra Fire Service, Mr Martin Agbili, were unsuccessful as he neither answered calls nor replied to the text messages sent to his cell phone.