Accra Mayor, Michael Kpakpo Allotey has given squatters at Avenor 24 hours to vacate the area following a fire outbreak that reportedly claimed one life.
The Mayor said the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) had previously served notice to the occupants to leave the area, but they had remained at the site.
“We have already given them notice to vacate this place, but they are still here. After this fire, we are not going to allow anybody to come back and resettle here. They have 24 hours to vacate the area,” he stated in an interview with Accra-based Adom FM, Thursday, October 1.
Allotey said the full circumstances surrounding the reported death were still being established.
“I have been told that one person has died, but I am yet to get the full details. We are still gathering information,” he added.
The Mayor also called on journalists to be cautious about providing platforms for people occupying unauthorised settlements to complain after incidents occur.
“I think it is time journalists stopped giving opportunities to people who occupy illegal places to come and lament,” he said.
Meanwhile, some residents are feared dead in the Thursday, October 1, 2026 inferno at Avenor in the North Industrial Area of Accra.
Neighbours who spoke to Onua TV’s Afia Tagor in Twi said the affected enclave, known as Kofikrom, is not only an industrial area but also houses residents.
According to them, some residents who managed to escape had to scale walls to avoid the inferno, while others could not make it out and were trapped.
“The place is called Kofikrom and people live there. Some are on night duty. Some had to climb the wall, some couldn’t come out. They were screaming, but it was too late,” an eyewitness recounted.
Another eyewitness told Afia Tagor that about seven people were trapped inside, including a child whose mother was helplessly outside when the fire started.
“There are about 7 people in there. A lady there told us. She was screaming, and we asked her the problem, and she said her little child is inside and we couldn’t enter. She was outside when the fire started, so she couldn’t go inside to take her child,” the eyewitness said.
The Ghana National Fire Service is yet to confirm any casualties as firefighting continues. Meanwhile, the cause of the fire is yet to be established.
