A midnight fire apparently sparked off by electrical fault on Sunday gutted the main building of the Delta Broadcasting Service (DBS) in Warri, commissioned by former President Olusegun Obasanjo on January 18, 2002.

No life was lost.

Only security personnel were on hand, as production staff had closed and gone home.

The fire was triggered off at the main television studio at about 12.05 a.m. and quickly spread to other facilities, including television and radio studios, master control room, edit suites, satellite room, engineering workshop.

The account department and other offices were completely destroyed before firemen from the Nigeria Port Authority (NPA), State Fire Service, Shell, and Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company (WRPC) extinguished the blaze.

Conspiracy theorists have alleged internal sabotage, as DBS is embroiled in a leadership tussle which prompted the state government to dissolve the board and placed the General Manager, Willy Sowho, on indefinite suspension.

Governor Eammanel Uduaghan recently visited the station, where he called for unity among the staff, promising better funding and provision of modern equipment.

On Sunday, acting General Manager, Eric James, captured the mood of the staff when he said the station is saddened by "this unfortunate incident, but wishes to assure all its esteemed viewers, listeners, and customers that arrangements are put in place to resume full transmission, as the radio is already on air."

He commended the fire fighters, DBS workers, as well as Warri South Council Chairman, Matthew Edema, and Uvwie Council Chairman, Peter Abugewa, "whose early intervention saved the situation from further damage. The cause of the fire remains unknown but investigation would commence into the incident to ascertain the cause."

Edema said: "It is a pity. I sympathise with the workers. I have been here since 12 midnight when (James) called to tell me about the situation. I know the kind of Governor we have. He will swing into action immediately. The fire services have all tried their best.

"It is a sorry case. This one is a big loss to us right now considering the economic melt down that is affecting the nation."

Information Commissioner, Oma Djebah, who visited the station at about 10.46 a.m. in the company of the Permanent Secretary, Gift Nikoro, lamented the loss, and said the government would set up a panel to investigate the fire outbreak.

He praised the workers for their resilience and urged them to be courageous at this "trying moment" because the government would take immediate steps to re-build the "DBS of our dream" after make shift studios would have been provided to get the station back on air.

Special Duties Commissioner, Ross Uredi Uredi, described the incident as "terrible and very bad. It is a very big loss."

State Assembly Information Committee Chairman, Abel Oshevire, added that "it is a major disaster. DRTV (Delta Rainbow Television) has been a viable medium of information and entertainment for Deltans.

"This is going to affect communication between the government and the governed because DRTV has been a very reliable medium for dissemination of information. Considering the extent of damage it means that it would take more than extra-ordinary effort to put the station back in action.

"But I believe the state government will do everything possible to restore the station to normalcy. It is a sad development for the state media industry."