Two youths in their early 20s in the early hours of Monday reportedly set ablaze a building housing eight shops along Palm-Groove Road in Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State.
They were said to have fled the scene immediately after they set the building on fire.
One of the victims and owner of an eatery located within one of the shops told journalists that he “woke up around 3am as a result of the petrol smell.”
The victim who would not want his name in print narrated how he saw the two suspected arsonists carrying out the act before fleeing.
“The motive for setting the building ablaze is still a mystery,” the shop owner said.
Sympathizers were seen gathered at the scene around 7am on Monday.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Bright Edafe, could not be reached for comments on the incident as of the time of filing this report.
Fire incidents in markets and residential buildings in the state have been alarming.
Several shops were on December 1, 2023, razed down in a fire incident at Ekpan Roundabout in Effurun, Delta.
The year earlier, goods and property worth several millions of naira were razed as fire engulfed a section of the Sapele Main Market in Sapele, Delta State.
It was the second fire incident recorded in the Sapele Main Market within that week.
Credit: Punch
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