21 October 2026 4:34 pm WAT
A 72-year-old retiree of the University of Calabar, Mrs. Anthonia Iso Archibong, and 14 other households have been rendered homeless after a Tuesday night fire at Ekondo Street, Calabar South Local Government Area in Cross River State.
The inferno, which destroyed property worth millions of naira, left over 20 persons stranded. Victims are now taking shelter at the residence of the female traditional ruler of Akai Efa, HH Henrietta Effa-Akpera.
Mrs. Archibong, who retired in 2019 as Assistant Chief Accountant, Bursary Department, said she collapsed from fright and smoke inhalation.
“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,” she said.
She appealed to SEMA and the Calabar South Chairman to assist affected families, noting she now lives on pension after exhausting her gratuity.
Another victim, Mr. Anso Anso, 39, said he lost academic certificates, including his BSc in Accounting from UNICAL, household items and five boxes of clothes meant for his marriage rites.
He said the cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained, though some residents linked it to a power surge.
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