Fire razes 300 shops in Zaria market


No fewer than 300 shops were destroyed following a fire outbreak at Katako Market, Sabongari area of Zaria in Kaduna State on Sunday.



News Agency of Nigeria reports that the fire, which lasted for about five hours, started at about 3.30am and was put out at about 8.30a.m.

Alhaji Abubakar Bagobiri, Chairman, Sabongari Marketers’ Association, described the incident as pathetic.

Bagobiri said security personnel on guard at the market told him that it was caused by electricity problem.

“I was told that the fire was caused by electric spark which subsequently engulfed the market’’, he said.

Bagobiri appealed to Kaduna State Government, State Emergency Management Agency and National Emergency Management Agency to come to the aid of the affected traders.

“Goods worth millions of naira were lost in this ugly incident, hence the need for government, non-governmental organisations and individuals to come to the aid of the affected traders’’, he said.

While praying for God’s protection against recurrence, the chairman appealed to the affected shop owners to accept it as the will of God and look unto Him for assistance.