By Peter Ejiofor
A Ugandan national, suspected to be on a revenge mission against his father, has set fire to the automobile workshop in Vom Hagen Street, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa.
The Nigeria Union South Africa (NUSA) said in a statement, on Tuesday in Pretoria, that the suspected arsonist destroyed nine cars and auto parts.
Most of the shops razed in the workshop belong to Nigerian businessmen and women.
TheNewsZenith reports that the market value of the items razed is estimated at N61,856,091.49 (R1,550,000.00).
Mr Habib Miller, the National Publicity Secretary of NUSA, who signed the statement, said the incident occurred on Sept. 5.
According to Miller, the auto-workshop belongs to Mr Owolabi Gbadamosi.
NUSA representatives, led by Acting President, Mrs Doris-Ikeri Solarin, had visited the scene and sympathised with their affected compatriots.
Other members of the delegation are Mr Trust Owoyele (National Treasurer), Mr Yomi Awosemo (National Assistant Welfare Officer) and Mr Olaniyi Abodedele, the NUSA Gauteng Chairman.
According to the statement, the union had notified the Consulate General of Nigeria in Johannesburg, about the incident.
“The goal is to exhaust every possibility within the laws of South Africa to get some compensation for the Nigerian businessmen.
“The suspected arsonist is still at large, but we have opened a case docket at a police station,” Miller stated.
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According to him, Owolabi narrated how the fire occurred at around 7.00 p.m. after everybody had closed from work.
“When we got a call informing us about a fire at their business unit, we assumed it was the occasional transformer explosion that occurred within the vicinity.
“That often happens when thieves try to steal cables from the substation. Such blasts did not pose any significant damage to our shops.
“However, when we got close to the location, we saw flames that indicated something serious had happened,’’ the statement quoted Owolabi as saying.
Another victim, Mr Tunji Balogun, recounted how he tried to save some of the vehicles during the raging fire.
But he said the fire service officers advised him against such a dangerous move.
NUSA recalled that before the fire, a Ugandan national, subletting part of the workshop, had a conflict with his son.
A financial disagreement between father and son from the East African country, allegedly caused the son to torch his father’s workshop. The fire consequently spread to other Nigerian shops in the vicinity.
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