By Frank Ulom
CALABAR (CONVERSEER) – The dark nights were getting brighter and brighter like the sun at noon in the eyes of business owners at Akim Timber market, Calabar, Cross River State capital, on Friday, 27 March 2026.
What happened? It was fire, engulfing the market, burning every wood, zinc, while spreading wildly like a rabbit that had just fed on a jar of candy.
The timber dealers, watched, struggled to reduce the spread but it was heating up like hell on earth with buckets of water feeling like a droplet on a heated tongue in the Kalahari desert.
Every flash of vehicular light that passes by, seems like hope from the fire service department, but no, it was more business owners rushing in to salvage their goods as the impact increases.
With all hopes dashed, a tender voice, which later increases, cried out, “Send down rain, Lord, send down rain.” It was not just a voice seeking for help, but a frustrated one, whose government, which collects more than 10% of his revenue monthly, has failed.
The man, dropped to his knees and continued singing, “Send down rain, Saviour, send down rain.”
The fire which started around 8 PM, continued burning for hours, without any sign of fire service. The people struggle, with buckets of water on their heads, in order to quench the fire.
“We called the fire service department, and someone replied, ‘We don’t have water’, one of the victims alleges.
On the cause, a shop owner who did not mention his name, claimed the fire started from a spark from an electric cable that entered the sawdust, while everyone had locked their shops and gone home.
“People who stayed around told us that it was an electric spark from one of the wires, and the fire started spreading because the spark had landed on the sawdust around one of the shops,” the shop owner stated.
Checks by Converseer on the spot, showed that a low tension wire of more than 50 metres is burnt and on the ground.
“When the fire started burning high, NEPA took the light,” he added.
At the time of filing this report, more than two hours later, no fire service was at the scene to quench the fire. Just business owners struggling with buckets and the Nigeria Police Force. Efforts to reach the fire service department, proved abortive.
The side of the market heavily affected is the area towards the Akim Police Barracks.
Currently, the cost of the goods affected can not be estimated.
Converseer reports that this is the second time the Calabar Metropolis is recording a fire disaster within a week. The other was a gas station explosion that injured over 60 people and destroyed properties worth billions at Edibe Ediba in Calabar South on 21 March 2026.
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