A fire outbreak razed the biggest electrical trading complex, PEELINKS Electronics Limited, on Murtala Mohammed Way in Lokoja, capital of Kogi State, with goods worth millions of naira lost to the inferno
The incident is the second fire outbreak at the facility, following a similar incident in 2020
The 2020 incident happened at night, around 11 pm. on Friday extending into early hours of Saturday, and completely razed the building.
Six years later, another fire outbreak gutted the facility burning down everything in the upper chamber of the complex completely
Eyewitnesses noted that but for sympathisers and the arrival of firefighters and security operatives, the fire would have razed the lower chamber of the complex with devastating effect
According to the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of PEELINKS Electronics Limited, Mr Peter Onujeme, his staff alerted him at about 6:30 p.m. of the fire incident.
He attributed the cause of the incident to a sudden power surge in the area
“We suspected that a power surge might have caused the incident, more so that electricity supply around our area had been on and off before the incident,” he said
He said they are yet to establish the value of the goods destroyed by the inferno, but estimated the losses to worth hundreds of millions of naira
However, he commended the Lokoja Fire Service, the Police, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, and the youths of Lokoja for their quick response, saying their intervention prevented the fire from causing greater damage
Meanwhile, the Kogi State Government sympathized with the management of PEELINKS Electronics, stressing that the government stands by them at this trying period
The deputy governor of the state, Comrade Joel Salifu, who paid a brief visit to the complex, commended security agencies and youths of Lokoja for their quick response and support in helping to save goods from the burning building
He said their courage and solidarity with the management of PEELINKS Electronics helped to reduce the impact of the disaster