No fewer than 200 shops were yesterday razed by fire at Ikom Main Market in Ikom Local Government Area of Cross River State. Chairman of the Lagos line of the market, Mr Chika Anya, said the intensity of the inferno was such that nothing could be savaged from the affected shops. According to him, the fire incident has been a reoccurring issue almost every year in the market. He alleged that as with previous cases, the state fire service was unable to provide much support.

“All we want now is support from the government to enable us get our lives back. “Government should also do the needful by having a functional fire service in Ikom and other council areas of the state,” Anya told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). One of the affected shop owners, Augustine Eze, said it was difficult to ascertain the cause of the fire as there was no electricity “and nobody is allowed to pass the night in the market.”

Eze said they got little support from the state fire service during the incident. Meanwhile, Mr Peter Okorebi, the state Director of Fire Service, said they would investigate the cause of the fire and take preven- tive measures. Okorebi, however, said that the shop owners have for long formed the habit of cooking in the shops in spite of repeated warnings against such by the fire service.