By Labofa Ukuta -Ogoba
The owner of a building on Alegbetere Street off Igbudu Market, Warri in Warri South Local Government Area, Delta State whose house was gutted by fire on Sunday night, 2nd of June, 2024, has cried for financial assistance. Narrating her ordeal,the landlady whose name is Mrs. Esther Alex Ike said, the fire was caused by power(electric) surge at about 10:30 pm on that fateful day and all attempts by neighbours to put out the fire proved abortive.
According to Mrs. Ike, she earlier heaved a sigh of relief when she saw the fire service men arrive the scene with their truck, thinking, they would help to put out the fire but to her chagrin, they allegedly demanded the sum of 30,000 Naira from her before they could start work. This, according to her, she could not give as she did not have such an amount of money with her at that material time.
Her words:” When the fire started and everybody was making attempts to put out the fire, I was happy to see the fire service men because that is their job but I was surprised that they asked me to pay the sum of 30,000 Naira before they could start work and I don’t have that kind of money in my pocket”
She said apart from her building, other buildings adjacent to the affected building were touched by the inferno. Then, of course, the security man attached to the building was also affected by fire and he was rushed to the central hospital and at present, receiving treatment. According to her, the fire has caused a lot of damage as, apart from her building, other property lost to the fire include second-hand clothing materials(Okrika bales) worth 10 million Naira. Mrs. Esther who spoke amid tears appealed to well meaning Nigerians, organizations and philanthropists to help her financially to enable her have a place for shelter.