An early morning fire outbreak has destroyed 10 shops and goods worth over N20 million at a motor spare parts market in Jabiri area of Funtua, Katsina State.
Speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Funtua, some of the affected shop owners said they were informed about the fire outbreak through phone call at about 4 a.m.
Mr Krifoda Kegobe, one of the affected person whose four shops were burnt, said he has lost not less than N8 million worth of goods in his shops.
He said: “Some of the people passing through the area said that the fire started from a restaurant near our shops.
”Immediately they saw the fire, the people called and informed me, but before I got to the market from my house the fire has finished all my goods. I was not able to remove anything”.
He added that despite efforts by the people around the area and the fire fighters, they were not able to salvage anything from the shops.
Mr Johnson Ugochukwu, another victim of the inferno, disclosed to NAN that he lost over N10 million from one of his three shops in the area.
According to Ugochukwu, “just of recent I traveled to Kano and Lagos where I spent a lot to buy goods and everything is gone now”.
Also speaking, Alhaji Nasir Saleh, a tyre seller said he lost about N2 million worth of goods in his three shops.
The victims called on government to come to their aid in order to recoup the losses.
An officer of the Fire Service, Funtua, Malam Muhammad Sani, said the unit worked in conjunction with the the fire service of the School of Basic and Remedial Studies to contain the fire.
Sani advised residents to be cautious in handling flammable materials to avert fire outbreaks and its consequences. NAN
