- The intense heat from the raging inferno repeatedly hampers firefighters, making it difficult to bring the situation under control
In Nasarawa state, traders and business owners have incurred enormous losses after a raging night inferno destroyed their shops and goods.
The fire incident happened at the New Modern Market in Lafia on Thursday night at about 9.30pm and lasted until the early hours of Friday.
Efforts by personnel of the Nasarawa State Fire Service to extinguish the fire were reportedly delayed due to heaps of refuse in and around the marketplace.
The intense heat from the raging inferno repeatedly hampers firefighters, making it difficult to bring the situation under control.
Narrating his ordeal, Musa Abdullahi, whose shop was among those razed, said no the cause of the fire outbreak is yet to be ascertained.
He disclosed that no fewer than 30 shops were destroyed in the inferno, adding that 70 percent of the shops destroyed were tailoring shops containing new sewing machines.
“Forty new sewing machines were delivered on Thursday morning, and they were all destroyed in the fire, alongside three shops belonging to my father. Other affected shops include those selling shoes and clothes,” he said.
The Director of the Nasarawa State Fire Service, Builder Ombogus-Joshua, confirmed the incident, saying his team received a distress call around 9.30pm on Thursday. He confirmed that firefighters were immediately deployed to the scene.
While disputing the claim that 30 shops were affected, Ombogus-Joshua did not specify the exact number, noting that investigations into the incident are ongoing