Fire razes 118 shops in Jos

A raging night inferno razed 118 shops at the Kabong market in Jos north local government area on Thursday.

A NAN correspondent, who visited the market, could not access the burnt section as some shops were still in flames.

Others also had thick smoke billowing from them, making visibility very difficult.

The actual cause of the fire could not be ascertained, but Christopher Jama, chairman, Kabong market traders association, who briefed Simon Lalong, governor of the state, when he visited the scene, said the fire started around 4:00am.

Jama claimed that the inferno was caused by an electrical spark when public power supply was restored in the night.

He told the governor 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 expressed ‘deep shock’ at the development, promising to remodel the market, and also address the traders plight.

“Government was already working towards remodeling before the inferno,” he said.

However, he expressed gratitude to God that no life was lost.

The governor directed the permanent secretary in the ministry of commerce to liaise with the market union to get details of the incident.

The market was still inaccessible as of the time of the governor’s visit. Smoke was still billowing from the burnt shops.