News
Fire Razes Storey Building In Rivers
A devastating inferno has razed a storey building in the Rumuodara area of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, destroying valuables and personal documents worth billions of Naira.
The fire, which swept through #4 (8) Bakery Close, off Onukem Avenue, by Shandee’s, in Rumuodara, was ignited around 8pm, on May 5, a day after the world marked the 2022 International Firefighters’ Day, set aside to recognise and honour the sacrifices, commitments and dedication firefighters make to ensure their communities are safe.
The fire, which lasted for more than five hours, took the intervention of firefighters from the Federal Fire Service and thousands of volunteers and neighbours to put out.
However, the fire destroyed every household valuable as well as personal documents and effects in the building, including primary, secondary and university certificates; birth certificates; property and bank documents; international passports; employments documents; among others.
Personnel of the Federal Fire Service, who responded to distress calls from various individuals, arrived the scene more than one hour after the fire had started.
The firefighters, who came to the scene with water, without any support chemicals, battled the fire, until suddenly, heavy rains began pouring down, and helped neutralise the inferno.
The Rivers State Police Command’s Okporo Police Station also deployed a team of combat operatives to give cover to the firefighters and other volunteers, who helped salvage the remaining property outside the building, especially the three vehicles left at the car park in front of the building.
The owner of the building, Engr Callistus Anieheobi, a staff of Chevron Nigeria Limited, who spoke to The Tide, said he had gone to a lounge about seven minutes away from the house along with his wife to join a friend who was celebrating 16 years marriage anniversary.
Anieheobi said that less than 25minutes after they arrived the venue of the meeting on Okporo Road, his house-helps called to raise the alarm that fire was already ravaging his building.
He said that on arrival at his gate, he saw thousands of neighbours, sympathisers and volunteers with buckets of water and fire extinguishers battling to put out the fire while others were struggling to lift his cars out of the compound to avoid escalation of the fire.
Anieheobi, who was left with only a pair of trouser, shirt and shoes he was wearing, said that by the time he came back with his wife, everything in the house had been razed.
He said that his attempt to rush into the building to recover their sensitive documents and valuables was forcefully rebuffed by the raging inferno, heat and billowing smoke, which forced the roof to cave in to the main sitting room and razed everything on its way, including the dining area on the ground floor.
He noted that the fire may have been triggered by electrical fault in the CCTV Controller, explaining that before leaving the house, the air conditioner in the master’s bedroom had been switched on while his children had been asked to go downstairs to take their dinner before going to bed in the same room, where the fire started from.
He thanked everyone who rendered one form of help or the other during his trying moment, including the Federal Fire Service, police and residents around the area.
Also speaking, Dr Chidinma Anieheobi, thanked God for saving the life of her children and her mother, who were downstairs having their dinner when the fire ignited.
Chidinma, a staff of National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), said that everything they had worked hard to acquire was completely razed by the fire, adding that the only thing left was what they were wearing.
The Tide gathered that the couple and their children, since the unfortunate incident, have been surviving with the help of friends, relatives and associates, who have provided clothing, and other gifts to support the family overcome their difficult moment.
The Tide confirmed that no casualties were recorded as a result of the fire, as all residents evacuated safely from the building before fire engulfed the entire building.
The Okporo police operatives, who interviewed the owner of the property and sympathisers, at the scene, also confirmed that no live was lost to the inferno.
When contacted, yesterday, Rivers State Police Command Spokesperson, Grace Iringe-Koko, said she was yet to be briefed on the incident.
However, Anieheobi has made written incident report before the Okporo Police Station.
By: Nelson Chukwudi
Nigerians may experience an increase in the prices of premium energy products diesel and petrol as the Dangote Petroleum Refinery temporarily halts the sale of petroleum products in Naira.
“This decision is necessary to avoid a mismatch between our sales proceeds and our crude oil purchase obligations, which are currently denominated in US dollars,” the company said in a statement yesterday.
The $20billion refinery based in Lagos said the sales of its products in Naira have exceeded the value of Naira-denominated crude it has received from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
“As a result, we must temporarily adjust our sales currency to align with our crude procurement currency,” the company explained.
The refinery said it remained committed to serving the Nigerian market and would resume the sale of its product to the local market in Naira as soon as it received crude cargoes from the NNPCL in Naira.
“As soon as we receive an allocation of Naira-denominated crude cargoes from NNPC, we will promptly resume petroleum product sales in Naira,” it said.
The announcement by the refinery comes amid its price war with the NNPCL.
As part of moves to reduce the strain on the US dollars, and guarantee price stability of petroleum products, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in July 2024, directed the NNPCL to sell crude oil to Dangote Refinery and other local refineries in naira and not in United States’ greenback.
In the beginning of March 2025, the NNPCL said its Naira-denominated crude sales agreement with the Dangote Refinery was structured for six months with March 2025 as the expiration date.
The state company, however, said that talks were on to replace the contract, and that over 48 million barrels of crude oil have been made available to Dangote Refinery since October 2024 under the Naira-denominated arrangement.
The NNPCL also said it had made over 84 million barrels of crude oil available to the private refinery since it commenced operations in 2023.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, faces energy challenges, with all its state-owned refineries non-operational for decades until 2024. The country was heavily reliant on imported refined petroleum products, with the state-run NNPCL being the major importer of the essential commodities.
Fuel queues are commonplace in the country. Prices of petrol more than quadrupled since the removal of subsidy in May 2023 by President Bola Tinubu, from around ¦ 200/litre to about ¦ 1,000/litre, compounding the woes of the citizens who power their vehicles, and generating sets with petrol, no thanks to decades-long epileptic electricity supply.
Last December, the billionaire industrialist commenced operations at the facility situated in Lagos with 350,000 barrels a day. The refinery, which was initially bogged by regulatory battles, hopes to achieve its full capacity of 650,000 barrels per day by the end of the year. The refinery has begun the supply of diesel and aviation fuel to marketers in the country and now petrol.
Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna has overtaken Egypt’s Omar Assar to become Africa’s highest-ranked player in the world, now sitting at 18th in the week 12 ranking released on Tuesday.
Aruna moved up from 19th place in week 11 to 18th in the latest ranking, while Assar dropped from 17th to 19th.
Denmark’s Jonathan Groth took over Assar’s 17th place, moving up from 18th.
Despite finishing as runner-up at the 2025 ITTF Africa Cup, Aruna’s impressive performances at the WTT tournaments this year have boosted his ranking.
Aruna remains the only African male player to have reached the semi-finals of the WTT Contender Doha, repeating his 2023 feat earlier this year in January.
This achievement has propelled him ahead of Assar, who beat him to become the champion of the 2025 ITTF Africa Cup.
Aruna’s next tournament is the WTT Contender Chennai which serves off in India from March 23 to 20.
In the women’s singles, Egypt’s Hana Goda maintained her top spot in Africa, moving up one place to 26th in the week 12 ITTF ranking. Her compatriot, Dina Meshref, remained static at 33rd, holding her position as the second-best-ranked female player in Africa.
China’s Wang Chuqin retained his position as the second-best player globally, behind his compatriot Lin Shidong, who continues to hold the top spot. Japanese superstar Tomokazu Harimoto dethroned China’s Liang Jingkun as the third-best player in the world after his semifinal finish in Chongqing.
In the women’s ranking, the top five remained unchanged, with China’s Sun Yingsha holding onto her top spot after retaining her WTT Champions Chongqing title.
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