Fire razes 150 shops in Zaria market

By Miracle Esegha, Warri

Midnight fire has razed about 150 shops at ‘Yan Katako’ market in Sabon Gari, Zaria, Kaduna State.

Congress learnt that the fire which broke out around 1:am on Wednesday, lasted till the afternoon.

The Chief Security Officer of the market, Hamisu Buhari narrated that the fire started when Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company restored power and an electric pole fell on the roof of one of the shops.

He stressed that efforts to contact fire service agencies within the area was not fruitful.

Buhari emphasized that he personally went to the Kofar Doka Fire Service office but was told that their operational vehicles had broken down.

“I finally contacted the fire service at the Sabon Gari Main Market. They asked me to provide fuel for them, which I did before they could come to the scene”, he noted.

Alhaji Alin Ashiru, the chairman of Timber dealers in the market blamed the inferno on electric spark.

He confirmed that about 150 shops were razed, with property worth millions of naira destroyed.

However, Abdul Azeez Abdullahi, the Head of Corporate Affairs, KEDCO, debunked the report that electricity an spark caused the fire outbreak.

According to him, the fire incident started in one of the shops in the market and spread to other shops.