No fewer than 32 rooms, household properties and documents were razed on Thursday night in Obeagu Iniymagu village in Abakaliki local government area of Ebonyi.

The items gutted in the inferno included water tanks, power generator sets, refrigerators, ceiling and standing fans and sewing machines.

The value of the items has yet to be ascertained.

Police inspector Udo Aniekan, one of the victims, disclosed that his certificates were destroyed.

“When I got a call from my son about the incident, I called the Police Control Room, and my colleagues helped to reach out to the State Fire Service for rescue,” stated the cop. “I lost all my household property, children documents, everything I have were razed.”

Another victim, Solomon Odeh, said he lost items, including land documents, certificates, and an undisclosed amount of money.

“I was in my village when I got a call that our apartments are on fire. I occupy two rooms in the building; everything I worked for, such as my two refrigerators, generator, cloths and other household properties, went up in flames,” Mr Odeh lamented.

Reacting, Ebonyi State Fire Service director Raphael Ibiam confirmed the incident.

According to Mr Ibiam, five similar fire cases had been recorded this January.

In December, a fire outbreak around Mile 50 Layout, Abakaliki, destroyed properties worth millions of naira. A residential building and more than seven shops were gutted in the incident.

(NAN)