An early-morning fire has ravaged Eda Plaza, a building materials market opposite Chida Hotel in Jabi, Abuja, destroying shops and goods reportedly worth millions of naira.

The inferno broke out around 3am on Sunday, leaving traders counting their losses after the fire spread through parts of the plaza.

An eyewitness told the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) that the alarm was raised after his brother-in-law, who owns two shops and a packing store at the plaza, received a distress call from a colleague informing him that the market was on fire.

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“We were at home this morning, as early as 3 am, and my brother-in-law received a call from one of his colleagues here in the plaza that the plaza was on fire. So we had to rush down there. On getting here, we discovered that the situation was so bad,” the eyewitness said.

According to him, only one of his brother-in-law’s two shops survived the inferno, while the other shop and the packing store were completely destroyed.

“In this plaza, my brother-in-law had two shops and a packing store. Unfortunately, only one of the shops was saved. The other shop and the packing store were totally damaged by the fire,” he added.

The eyewitness estimated the value of roofing materials lost in the blaze at more than N20 million, revealing that some of the affected materials had been restocked just hours before the fire.

“Over here, you see some of the roofs that we still have here. We are talking about a roof that is worth over N20 million lost in this fire,” he said.

He further lamented that some of the roofing materials had only been restocked the previous night.

“Because the other shop, we had roofs that were just restocked last night. And then the packing store also, we had roofs that were just restocked last night,” he said.

Confirming the incident, the National Public Relations Officer and Head of Corporate Services of the Federal Fire Service, Deputy Controller of Fire Paul Abraham, said a distress call about the Eda Plaza fire was received at 2:46am.

Abraham said the Federal Fire Service, in collaboration with the Federal Capital Territory Fire Service, deployed firefighting appliances from its Wuse, Interior Ministry and Garki stations to battle the inferno.

He disclosed that a stop message was issued at 10:14am, indicating that the fire had been brought under control.

The Federal Fire Service spokesman added that investigations were ongoing to determine the remote and immediate causes of the fire.

Despite the extent of the destruction and the financial losses recorded, no casualty was reported.

The eyewitness expressed gratitude that the incident did not claim any life.
“In our situation, we give thanks to God that no life was lost in this situation,” he said.

The quest for increased oil production from the Oil Mining Lease (OML) 42 has seen the Nestoil Group deploy its Pathfinder 500 rig to carry out workover operations on two producing wells.

The deployment, carried out through the Group’s strategic business unit, Scorpio Drilling International, marks the first productive assignment of the Pathfinder 500 since its acquisition about eight years ago.

The Pathfinder 500 is one of two rigs acquired by the Nestoil Group as part of a combined investment of approximately $28 million. The second rig is the Scorpio 300.

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According to a statement issued by the Group over the weekend, the Pathfinder 500 was successfully mobilised to the OML 42 site, where it completed workover operations on the two wells without any Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) incidents before being safely demobilised to base.

The statement added that the successful operation also contributed to incremental oil production from OML 42 and is expected to support the Group’s planned in-field drilling programme.

Chairman of Nestoil/Neconde Group, Dr. Ernest Obiejesi, described the development as a defining moment for the Group and Nigeria’s indigenous drilling capacity.

Obiejesi said the rig had remained idle for eight years amid doubts that it would ever be deployed for productive operations, making its successful mobilisation, incident-free workover campaign and safe demobilisation a significant achievement.

He explained that the decision to invest in the Pathfinder 500 and Scorpio 300 was driven by the need to reduce dependence on hired rigs, which could be difficult and costly to secure within Nigeria’s operating environment.

According to him, as an asset owner in OML 42, the Group requires reliable in-house drilling capacity to undertake workovers, revive mature wells and ultimately drill new wells as the field develops.

He said the successful deployment of the Pathfinder 500 now positions the Group to proceed with its planned in-field drilling programme.

Obiejesi further disclosed that the project, from rig refurbishment to crewing, was executed entirely by Nigerian personnel without foreign partnership or support.

He noted that the rig is currently operated by a 100 percent Nigerian crew, attributing the development to decades of capacity building by international oil companies operating in Nigeria.

The Nestoil chairman said the experience had helped position Nigeria as a net exporter of skilled drilling personnel to other oil-producing countries.

He commended the teams at Scorpio Drilling International and others involved in the rehabilitation and operation of the rig.

Obiejesi also said the achievement extends beyond Nestoil Group, noting that Scorpio Drilling International now has two operating rigs and is among companies with rig assets in Nigeria.

“Nestoil Group, through Neconde Energy, holds interests in OML 42 and continues to invest in indigenous drilling, workover and well-services infrastructure to sustain and increase oil production from the asset.

“Scorpio Drilling International operates the Pathfinder 500 and Scorpio 300 rigs and provides drilling services to the Group and third parties across Nigeria’s oil and gas industry,” the statement added.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu expresses deep sadness over the sudden death of Mr Dotun Oladipo, former Political Editor of The Punch newspaper and Publisher of The Eagle Online, describing his death as a painful loss to Nigeria’s media industry and the nation at large.

President Tinubu acknowledges the deceased’s contributions to journalism, particularly his years of dedicated service in political reporting and his commitment to providing Nigerians with credible information through both traditional and digital media platforms.

The President says Oladipo’s professional career reflected the important role journalists play in strengthening democracy by informing citizens, holding public officials accountable and providing platforms for robust public discourse.

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He recalls the deceased’s passion for his profession and his contributions to the growth of digital journalism through The Eagle Online, which he founded after his remarkable career at Punch Newspaper.

“Dotun Oladipo’s death at the age of 56 is a painful loss to the Nigerian media community and to our nation. He was a committed journalist who devoted significant years of his life to informing the public and contributing to the development of our democracy.

“His contributions to political journalism and the digital media space will not be forgotten. I extend my heartfelt condolences to his family, colleagues in GOCOP and friends. I pray that Almighty God will grant him eternal rest and give his loved ones the strength to bear this irreparable loss,” President Tinubu notes.