By Peter Onyekachukwu 
BY Peter Onyekachukwu
A midnight fire on Wednesday night has tore through a section of Igbudu Market in Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State, reducing hundreds of stalls to rubble and destroying goods worth millions of naira.
The cause of the fire remains unknown at the time of this report, but eyewitnesses said the blaze began shortly after midnight and quickly engulfed the Concord, Lagos, and Asaba lines of the market, three major trading sections known for housing a wide range of goods from Female Hair, Baby, cosmetics, house hold things others to mention but a few.
Igbudu Market, widely regarded as the largest and most commercially active open market in Delta State, operates daily without a traditional market day. It serves as a critical trading hub, not only for Warri and its environs but also for buyers and sellers across the Niger Delta.
One trader, Mr. Okoro Jacob, who arrived early to assess the damage, said, “I got a call around 2 a.m., but by the time I got here, i saw the the fire has burnt down some part of the market, my mother’s own a shop here, but the fire did not get to her shop”
According to witnesses, two fire service trucks arrived at the scene with emergency personnel, assisted by residents and traders who fought the flames using water buckets and fire extinguishers. Their efforts were able to prevent the fire from spreading to other parts of the market.
“We don’t know what caused it,” said a market leader who asked not to be named. “All we know is that by the time people noticed, the fire had already taken over those three major lines. Thankfully, the fire service and some brave traders managed to contain it.”
At the scene Thursday early morning, security operatives had cordoned off the affected area, restricting access to traders and residents while emergency personnel carried out damage assessment.
Despite the barricades, large crowds gathered outside the burnt zone, many in tears, some still hopeful that their wares had survived.
“It’s heartbreaking,” said Mrs. Grace Ovie, another affected trader. “This market feeds thousands of families every day. We need help fast.”
Meanwhile, effort to get comments from the state government at the time of this report are not successful as Delta State government officials have yet to release a formal statement.