BREAKING: Shops collapse on traders, customers in Abia Market

In a heart-stopping incident at the Ekeoha shopping centre in Aba, Abia State, traders and customers had a close call with death when several shops in a section of the market collapsed on Wednesday. The dramatic incident occurred during the bustling morning hours of buying and selling.

Miraculously, no lives were lost in the incident, but the destruction of goods amounted to millions of naira. Eyewitnesses recounted the harrowing moments when the disaster struck. Ifeoma, one of the traders, shared her experience, revealing that an alarm was raised about cracks in the walls of zone 13. In a frenzy, traders and customers rushed to evacuate their shops just moments before several shops crumbled, burying goods under the rubble.

Surviving traders expressed gratitude for their safety, but many lamented the loss of their livelihoods as their goods were destroyed. Some traders pointed fingers at the contractors responsible for building the shops, alleging shoddy construction work as the root cause of the collapse.

Governor Alex Otti swiftly reacted to the incident, extending his condolences to the affected traders. He dispatched a team led by the Commissioner for Information and Culture, Okey Kanu, and his Special Assistant on Aba Rejuvenation, Uche Ukeje, to assess the situation on-site. The governor attributed the tragedy to the alleged greed of officials from the previous administration in the State, accusing them of allowing additional structures to be erected on existing floors without considering the potential risks.

To prevent further mishaps, Governor Otti ordered the evacuation and sealing off of the collapsed area of the market. He also directed comprehensive integrity tests to be conducted on the remaining shops to ensure the safety of traders and customers.

The unfortunate building collapse comes only eleven days after the devastating inferno that consumed the popular Powerline market in Aba, resulting in millions of naira worth of goods being lost.

The scope and quality of the job done at Ekeoha market have been a contentious issue, with some traders previously lodging complaints against government officials and a former market chairman, alleging the haphazard addition of shops to existing structures.

Authorities are now focused on investigating the matter thoroughly to prevent similar incidents and hold those responsible accountable for the structural failures that put lives and businesses at risk.