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From Aniekan Aniekan, Calabar
A 72-year-old retired staff member of the University of Calabar (UNICAL), Mrs Anthonia Iso Archibong, and 14 other households have been rendered homeless following a fire outbreak at Ekondo Street, Calabar South Local Government Area of Cross River State.
The inferno, which occurred on Tuesday night, destroyed property worth millions of naira and left more than 20 persons stranded, forcing the victims to seek temporary shelter at the residence of the female traditional ruler of Akai Efa, His Highness Henrietta Effa-Akpera.
Archibong, who retired in 2019 as an Assistant Chief Accountant in the university’s Bursary Department, said she collapsed from shock and smoke inhalation during the incident.
Recounting her ordeal, she said: “I fell and hit my head. This is the second time I am running from a house without anything, just like during the 1966 civil war when we fled Yola with my late father.”
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The elderly retiree appealed to the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and the Chairman of Calabar South Local Government Area to urgently assist the affected families.
She explained that she now depends on her pension for survival, having exhausted her gratuity.
Another victim, 39-year-old Mr Anso Anso, said the fire destroyed his academic certificates, including his Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from UNICAL, alongside household belongings and five boxes of clothes he had prepared for his marriage rites.
The cause of the fire had yet to be established as of the time of filing this report, although some residents suspected that a power surge might have triggered the inferno.
