Yan Katako Market in Sabon Gari, Zaria, Kaduna State, after the fire. Photo: The Sun
Over 150 shops have been destroyed by an early morning inferno at the ‘Yan Katako’ Market in Sabon Gari, Zaria, Kaduna State.
According to the Chief Security Officer of the market, Mr. Hamisu Buhari, the fire began in the early hours of Wednesday, when power was restored, and an electric pole sparked and fell on the roof of one of the shops.
Mr. Buhari said the fire spread to other shops as efforts to get urgent fire service proved abortive.
“I personally went to the Kofar Doka Fire Service office and I was told that the vehicle used for operation was not in a good shape, then I proceeded to the Kongo campus of Ahmadu Bello University where I was told they have directives not to operate outside the university premises. Then finally the fire service at the Sabon Gari Main Market agreed to help but asked that I fuel their vehicle which I did before they came to the scene”, he narrated.
The Executive Secretary of the Kano State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Saleh Jilih, had said preliminary findings put the worth of wealth destroyed in the inferno at about N6 billion.
In a reaction, the Head of Corporate Affairs, of Kaduna Electric, Mr. Abdulazeez Abdullahi, denied that electricity sparks caused the fire, but said the fire started in one of the shops in the market.
Writing by Onyinyechi Ogbu; Editing by Chinasa Ossai