Traders at Ika Ika along Mbukpa Street in Calabar South Local Government Area of Cross River State have appealed for assistance after a fire outbreak razed several shops, destroying goods worth millions of naira and leaving many devastated.

The incident occurred late on Thursday night and was said to have started from the upper part of the affected building before spreading downward. Although no life was lost, shop owners said the inferno wiped out their means of livelihood.

Some of the affected traders, including Ada Oke and Elizabeth Prince, who spoke separately with our correspondent, said they had closed their shops around 11:00 p.m. and gone home before the fire broke out.

“We closed our shops around 11 p.m. and went home. Early this morning, I received a call that my shop was on fire. By the time I arrived, everything had already been burnt,” they said.

According to them, the fire destroyed two deep freezers, bags of rice, beans, grains, dairy products, books, and other provisions stocked in December at an estimated cost of about ₦1.5 million, funds they said were raised through personal contributions.

“Everything in my shop is gone. Even the container where I kept money was burnt with the money inside. I had not removed even a pin from the goods,” they lamented.

The traders estimated their total loss, including the shop structure and equipment, at over ₦4 million, adding that they had no idea how the fire started.

An eyewitness told The Guardian that the fire was noticed shortly after midnight following distress calls by residents, prompting frantic efforts to prevent it from spreading further.

“We fetched water with buckets and used detergent and sand. Everybody came out to help because we didn’t know what else to do,” the eyewitness said.

It was also learnt that residents eventually brought the fire under control before it spread to other buildings in the area.

The affected traders appealed to the Cross River State Government, emergency agencies, insurance bodies and well-meaning Nigerians to come to their aid.

“I am begging for help from the Government House and any agency or organisation that can assist me to rebuild my shop. January is already very difficult,” one of the traders pleaded.

As of the time of filing this report, the cause of the fire had yet to be officially determined.

Efforts to reach officials of the Cross River State Fire and Rescue Service proved abortive, as the Director of the agency, Dennis Ajom, did not respond to repeated phone calls. (Guardian)