***Properties, beers worth millions destroyed
From John Adams, Minna
A hotel owner in Suleja, Niger State, narrowly escaped death on Sunday after attempting to take his own life when a raging fire razed his multi-million-naira hotel, destroying property and goods worth several millions of naira.
The hotelier, Mr. Sunday Agbo, was reportedly restrained by neighbours and passers-by who suspected he was heading for a suicide attempt after watching helplessly as his lifetime investment went up in flames.
The fire incident occurred on Sunday afternoon at Abagbo Garden and Hotel, popularly known as the “Car Wash Hotel,” located in the Kwankwashi area of Suleja, Suleja Local Government Area of the state.
Eyewitnesses said the inferno started when one of the hotel’s generating sets caught fire and rapidly spread to the entire building, consuming the structure within minutes.
Despite frantic efforts by neighbours, hotel guests and staff of a nearby A.A. Rano Filling Station, who reportedly brought fire extinguishers to contain the blaze, the fire raged uncontrollably, leaving little or nothing to salvage.
Although officials of the Niger State Fire Service, Suleja Division, later arrived at the scene with a fire truck, a substantial portion of the hotel had already been destroyed due to the speed and intensity of the fire.
Residents described the incident as “mysterious,” noting the rapid spread and magnitude of destruction.
Apart from the hotel rooms, the entire storehouse containing over 200 cartons of assorted beers was completely razed. It was gathered that the management had taken delivery of the beverages just a day earlier, on Saturday, and that not a single bottle had been sold before the fire outbreak.
Witnesses said Mr. Agbo, an indigene of Benue State, became visibly distressed as he watched the inferno reduce the hotel — said to be his major investment — to rubble.
“He suddenly ran off from the scene, and people suspected he wanted to kill himself,” an eyewitness said. “He was chased, caught and held down before he could do anything dangerous.”
The hotelier was later taken away from the scene to his private residence, where family members, friends and sympathisers gathered to console him over the massive loss.
Speaking briefly after regaining composure, a visibly shaken Mr. Agbo lamented that the fire had wiped out everything he had worked for over two decades.
“I have lost everything I laboured for over 20 years,” he was quoted as saying. “What else do you want me to be doing in this life?”
It was further gathered that the hotel owner had recently secured a loan of over ₦10 million to renovate the hotel rooms and had not yet paid for the beer consignment delivered shortly before the incident.
“I don’t know how I will come out of this,” he reportedly cried. “I am finished. I don’t know where to start from because I invested everything into this hotel.”
As of the time of filing this report, the cause of the fire had not been officially determined, while authorities were yet to issue a formal statement on the incident.
