Dan Atori, Minna
Goods worth millions of naira have been destroyed in an inferno that consumed a section of the Abdulkhadir Kure Ultra Modern Market in Minna, Niger State on Saturday night.
Dozens of shops were burnt in the inferno that started at about 10p.m., leaving traders and shop owners in grief.
The fire started from Shop 9 in one of the blocks before extending to other shops.
The intervention of some securitymen and men of the state fire service was said to have curtailed the raving fire from consuming more shops.
The fire was said to have started from the centre of the market mostly affecting the cosmetics shops and lines of shops where female handbags and shoes are sold.
The immediate cause of the fire was not known but a source in the market said it was caused by electric spark from one of the shops.
Some affected shop owners said they lost goods and cash stocked in the shops because they could not go to the bank owing to the fact that it was weekend.
One of the shop owners, Alhassan Husseini, said that he lost jewelries and cosmetics worth N1.5 million and cash of over N300,000 to the fire.
Another victim, Bello Bashira, said that all the goods mainly plastics in his shops, were lost.
Most of the victims lamented that they just took delivery of new stocks after Christmas and New Year celebrations which was why the extent of damage was high, coupled with the fact that some hoodlums took advantage of the situation to loot the shops.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), ASP Richard Adamu Oguche, confirmed the incident, adding that the police was still investigating the cause of the incident to ascertain whether there was sabotage.
