…victims in tears, seek govt. Intervention
By Kenneth Jude
Like every other day, shop owners at Mechanic Village, located on Olusegun Obasanjo Way, popularly known as Abak Road, Uyo had closed for the day on Saturday May 10, 2026 oblivious of the cruel fate that lurked.
Just as they made to doze off after an exhaustive day at their shops, they received frantic calls late into the night that some shops were on fire. Tension.
Mechanic Village is a one-stop shop for all items relating to spare parts of vehicles, motorcycles etc.
Ordinarily, those who got calls would not answer calls at such time, but given that it was unusual, they had no choice but pick up their calls.
The calls did not come in one fell swoop as it came from different sources at different times hence those who received the frantic calls did not come at the same time.
The fire, it was gathered, started at around 9.30pm when the market had long closed with shop owners apparently taking stock of the day’s sales in the comfort of their homes. But when calls came at such an unusual time, they hearkened to it, perhaps thinking a customer has called to make enquiries or book for items.
But that wasn’t the case. As they, in haste, dashed to the market with little choice given the frantic nature of the calls and the messages they got, they were met with a thick smoke billowing into the sky. Bedlam!
As they approached the gate, the inferno was fierce and the heat emanating therefrom hellish.
Our found out that men of the Federal Fire Service had responded almost immediately to distress calls, but they had to retreat, reinforce and return apparently because the inferno was bigger than their response capacity at the time.
On their return, two vehicles from the Federal Fire Service and one from the state, battled intensely along with a crowd that had besieged the scene of horror to put out the fire. When the fire died down with flames however still billowing into the air, about 12 shops had been razed to ashes. Tears, sorrow and lamentation rent the air as victims watched the horrific scene with mouths agape, crestfallen and awestruck. It’s not what they bargained for as they closed for the day. Certainly not.
When our reporter arrived at the scene on Monday, all that was left were carcases and wreckage from the raging night inferno. On enquiry, no one could actually point a finger as to the real cause of the fire, but one of the respondents who volunteered what he heard must have triggered the fire said, information at his disposal had it that an unidentified man had set a debris that had collected around his shop on fire, but “apparently, he was not careful enough to ensure that the fire had completely gone off before leaving.”
Speaking our reporter, Chief Remigus Chibata whose shop was razed dawn, in a voice steeped in gloom and pain, narrated his ordeal this way: “I got a call around past 10 in the night to the effect that I should rush to Mechanic Village that my shop was on fire. But due to my distance and difficulty of mobility at that time, I only got to the scene by past 12. When I got here, I couldn’t recognise my shop as fire had gutter everything. I did not remove anything from the shop. This is really sad owing to the fact that, I had only returned from the market on May 3 with goods worth N25 million (Twenty-five Million Naira). I lost all to the fire,” he said with sullen looks on his face. Chibata who has six children was in tears as he appealed to the state government and relevant agencies for help as he had no other source of income.
For Godswill Anieuwa, an orphan from Uyo LGA, he lamented what has befallen him, saying that as of the time of speaking with this reporter, all he had was gone. “I’ve not eaten since morning because I don’t have any money on me. I am an orphan from Ikot Oku Ikono in Uyo LGA. I had inherited this shop from my late father; now all is gone! With a teary eye, Godswill told this reporter that he got a call at about 11:30pm. It took him another 30 minutes to get to the scene because “I used my motorcycle and was intermittently flagged down by men of the Nigeria Police Force. This is even more heartbreaking for me because I have goods in the shop I bought a day before which I’ve not opened yet, but now, all is gone,” he said sobbing helplessly. Godswill said he lost goods worth N35 million and above.
“At this point, I’m helpless. Just look at my shop, I can’t even recognise it again.” Hands on his head, Godswill begged the government and good spirited individuals to come to his aid as he has no other thing to fall back on. “Having lost my father, I’m appealing to Governor Umo Eno to take me as his son and help me out of this situation,” he pleaded amid sobs.
On his part, Uchendu Syriacus, a father of two, got to the scene around 11pm following a call he got around past 10pm.
On getting there, his shop and goods he got on credit amounting to over N12 million was gone! He also said that he is owing two banks having got a loan facility from them.
“If I didn’t have a family, it would have been a different case in terms of putting up with this reality, but with a wife and two children, I must face the situation,” he said, his voice shaking. “I’m using this medium to appeal to the government to come and help us. I’ve heard and seen government go to hospitals to pay bills for patients who have nothing; I’ve seen them build houses for the downtrodden and so on. This is a similar scenario. I appeal to the government to give us succour in this trying time.”
Mr. Francis Onuh who lost goods worth N20 million to the inferno, however said that he was able to rescue some, but his shop was razed down. He equally appealed for help.
Mr. Uchenna Umeofia who has a shop in the premises commended fire fighters for racing to the scene on time, noting that without their swift response, more damage would been done. He called for calm, adding that what is needed now is for victims to be given all the support and consolation they need rather than advance conspiracy theories.
Speaking on the development, the Secretary of the Mechanic Village Caretaker Committee, Mr. Chukwuemeka Obidike described the incident as unfortunate.
Obidike who spoke on behalf of the Chairman of the Caretaker Committee, noted that though the chairman is not in town, but he has been kept abreast of developments
He appealed to the government to come and assist the victims As they have lost a fortune to the fire incident. On his part, the Chairman of Igbo Community in the Mart4, Mr. Christopher Ejike said he got wind of the incident around 9pm. “I got to the scene 30 minutes after and met what I can’t fully explain. The fire fighters arrived on time that’s why the disaster was a bit mild.”
When our reporter queried why the place was being run by a Caretaker Committee, it was revealed that the process of election is ongoing and will soon be concluded.
Eye witnesses described the incident as horrible, saying that had fire fighters not responded on time, it would have been worse. “We are begging the government to come to the aid of the victims. They have lost everything. Some of them are owing banks. It is a very sad moment for them,” one of them said.
As of the time of filing this report, victims and shop owners were seen in groups talking about the incident with shock plastered on their faces.
