A night fire has wrecked incredible havoc destroying as many as 118 shops in a Jos, Plateau state market.
An uncontrollable night inferno razed 118 shops at the Kabong market in Jos North on Thursday morning, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
The actual cause of the fire could not be ascertained, but Mr Christopher Jama, Chairman, Kabong Market Traders Association, who briefed the governor when he visited the scene, said the fire started by 4:00am.
Jama claimed that the fire was caused by an electrical spark when public power supply was restored in the night. He told Gov. Simon Lalong, who visited the burning market, that 118 shops were completely burnt, and noted that goods destroyed included bags of maize, beans, rice, and poultry products.
He appealed to the governor to come to the aid of the affected traders ‘whose means of livelihood had been destroyed’.
Lalong, who expressed “deep shock” at the development, promised to remodel the market and also address the traders' plight. “Government was already working towards remodeling before the inferno.”
The governor however, expressed gratitude to God that no life was lost. He also directed the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce to liaise with the market union to get details of the incident.
According to NAN, the market was still inaccessible as at the time of the governor’s visit as smoke was still billowing from the burnt shops