Ekiti State Governor Biodun Oyebanji on Tuesday condemned the looting of property by some individuals during a fire outbreak in Igede Ekiti, which destroyed multimillion-naira property.
The governor vowed to investigate those responsible for the looting and ensure they are brought to justice.
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Speaking during a visit to the scene of the fire, which engulfed two buildings housing six shops and residential apartments, Governor Oyebanji, represented by Deputy Governor Monisade Afuye, sympathised with the victims and pledged government support to alleviate their losses through the provision of relief materials.
The fire, which began around 1:30 a.m., caused significant damage before being controlled by the Ekiti State Fire Services.
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He, however, thanked God that no life was lost during the midnight conflagration that destroyed the two buildings and many shops.
The governor noted that the inferno may have been caused by an electrical spark resulting from high voltage and melting wires, emphasising the importance of shop owners switching off their lights at night to prevent such incidents.
Commenting on the reported cases of looting during the fire outbreak, he condemned the act as an extreme display of wickedness. He stated that such behaviour has no place in a civilised society.
The Governor also visited the palace of Onigede of Igede Ekiti, Oba James Aladesuru, to sympathise with the monarch on the highly painful occurrence and promised that his government would swiftly commence enumeration of the property lost for intervention.
“I want to believe that the fire must have surged from an electricity spark. The government has been crying and warning our people to always [put] off their lights while not at home. Those who left their shops and refused to [put] off the lights caused this, and it was painful.
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“The wires must have melted when the high voltage electricity came resulting in fire that spread across the two buildings. Try and heed the government’s advice on how we can effectively use our electricity.
“We sympathise with you. The news about these losses was not pleasurable to our governor. But we are assuring you that we will intervene.
“The operatives of the Ekiti State Emergency Management Agency will soon come to do the enumeration of the victims and the estimate of the losses incurred”.
On the looting, the governor said, “I am not really happy that some people were looting property when they were supposed to help safeguard the situation. This is bad and wicked. We are going to investigate this, and whoever is indicted shall be arrested and prosecuted accordingly,” he vowed.
One of the victims, Chinedu Nbamu, appreciated the governor’s visit and urged that those who looted property be investigated and arrested to serve as a deterrent to others.
Mr Nbamu, who described the incident as worrisome and painful, added that no one could ascertain the source of the inferno while debunking the claim that the fire surged from his multimillion-Naira shop.
Expressing grief over the occurrence, the Onigede of Igede Ekiti, Oba Aladesuru, appreciated the governor for displaying compassion and empathy at this highly excruciating time for the victims.
The monarch appealed to the government to act swiftly and start offering the victims palliatives so that they could return to their businesses as soon as possible.
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