A mysterious inferno has ravaged the renowned Afia Mgbede market, a section within the larger Nnewi Auto Spare Parts Market in Anambra State, South-East Nigeria. The tragic incident occurred in the early hours of Tuesday, reducing goods and properties worth millions of naira to ashes.
Eyewitness footage circulating on social media captures the heart-wrenching scene of towering flames consuming market buildings, with onlookers standing helplessly. Notably absent in the video were both state and federal fire service teams, raising concerns about the region’s preparedness for emergencies of this magnitude.
In one video clip shared by Leadership Newspapers, a distraught voice is heard lamenting, “Afia Mgbede is on fire now. This is early Tuesday morning. Motor parts are on fire. The entire Afia Mgbede motor parts market is completely burning. We don’t have a fire service in Anambra State, and it is very unfortunate.”
Although the exact cause of the blaze remains undetermined, initial reports suggest the fire started late Monday night and continued unchecked into the early hours of Tuesday. A resident of Nnewi, Sunday David, told Sahara Reporters that the fire specifically affected the Afia Mgbede section of the market rather than the entire Nnewi Auto Spare Parts Market.
“This wasn’t the whole motor spare parts market; it’s a specific section called Afia Mgbede inside the larger market,” David clarified.
Efforts to obtain an official statement from the Anambra State Police Command proved unfruitful. The Command’s spokesperson, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, revealed to Sahara Reporters that he had not yet received any report on the incident, stating, “There is no such report before me.”
The disaster underscores a recurring challenge in Nigeria—insufficient infrastructure and emergency response capabilities. Traders in Nnewi, a hub renowned for its vibrant automotive spare parts trade, are left counting their losses and grappling with the uncertainty of rebuilding their livelihoods.
As investigations into the incident begin, calls for improved fire safety measures and better-equipped emergency services in Anambra State and beyond are intensifying. Stakeholders have urged the government to act swiftly to prevent a recurrence of such devastating losses in one of Nigeria’s key commercial hubs.
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