Fire razes Calabar SPAR mall

Police in Calabar are struggling to control shop looters exploiting a massive fire that has engulfed the SPAR shopping mall. The Public Relations Officer of the state command, ASP Eitokpah Sunday Akata, suggested the fire might have been caused by an electrical fault. Officers have been on-site since the incident and are working to secure the area from the looters. No casualties have been reported yet, but the mall's property and goods have sustained significant damage. The total extent of the destruction remains unknown.

Many shop owners are devastated as they watched their businesses and merchandise burn to the ground, with losses estimated in multiple millions of Naira. Some, who do not have insurance or whose coverage has lapsed, are particularly distraught. Orji Alphonsus, a second-hand merchandise seller, lamented that his business, which he only recently leased, has been completely ruined.

He had taken out loans and used his savings to stock the shop, and now he is unsure how to repay them or move forward with his life. He expressed deep concern for his large family and dependents, asking which government would help him recover from this financial ruin. The cause of the fire, which has gutted large portions of the mall, has not been determined as of Saturday afternoon.

Fire trucks arrived at the scene but may not have had sufficient resources to manage the intense blaze.