A Devastating fire outbreak on Christmas Day has left shop owners and artisans in Onitsha, Anambra State, in a state of despair. The inferno, which occurred at Ibokwu Street, by Old Market Road, destroyed equipment and goods worth over N200 million.

The fire started at around 9:15 am, when shop owners were at home celebrating Christmas. Despite frantic calls, fire fighting officials failed to respond, leaving it to good Samaritans to prevent the fire from spreading to nearby houses and shops.

The affected shops were attachment buildings at the defunct General Post Office Onitsha, which had been sold to a businessman from Anambra State. The new owner had reportedly been pressuring occupants to vacate the premises, and some were even prevented from conducting business on Christmas Eve.

When our correspondent visited the scene, shop owners were seen trying to salvage what was left of their belongings. Others, who had lost everything, were overcome with grief. Chinedu Nnamdi, one of the affected shop owners, recounted how he saw smoke billowing from the area and initially thought it was just someone burning waste. It wasn’t until his neighbors alerted him that he realized his shop was on fire.

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The fire destroyed a range of equipment, including D I Machines worth over N2 million each, fridges, generators, computers, printing machines, stationery, and other work equipment used by artisans. The cause of the fire is still unknown, but eyewitnesses suspect it may have been caused by an electrical spark.

As the people of Onitsha struggle to come to terms with the devastating loss, many are left wondering how they will recover from this Christmas Day tragedy.