ABOUT 500 fish stores were on Tuesday night, destroyed by an inferno at Ogbe-Ijoh market in Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State.
This is coming barely a year after similar incident happened in the market.
Owners of the fish stores mostly built with planks said the inferno destroyed goods worth millions of naira while hoodlums feasted on others.
They said that the fire started from an electric surge, while they equally accused the market vigilance team whom they contribute N500 each to monthly of sabotage ahead of the Yuletide.
It was further gathered that hoodlums defied the raging fire to swoop on the stores to loot, a development that later attracted the presence of soldiers to the area.
Nigerian Tribune also revealed that worst hit were the smoked fish sellers who could hardly salvage their wares from the fire.
Some traders who spoke to the Nigerian Tribune disclosed that such incident usually happened between December and January annually.
It was reported that the Tuesday inferno lasted for about three hours, before the arrival of the Delta State Fire Service.
Commissioner representing the Ijaw ethnic nationality on the board of DESOPADEC, Chief Favour Izoukumor, promised that the state government would do the needful.
Leader of Ogbe-Ijoh Market Traders Women Union, Mrs Queen Ajemitolu, in pidgin said: “I don tire for this market wey dey burn every time.
“Na fish we dey sell here, because of no proper care and temporary structure, so the time people dey dry fish, or if NEPA light come, e dey cause fire.”
While calling on DESOPADEC and Delta State government to assist traders who suffered the losses with relief materials, Ajemitolu said the market needs boreholes and modern structure.