‘Hundreds’ of shops destroyed as fire guts Katsina central market

Hundreds of shops at the Katsina central market were said to have been razed, following a fire outbreak on Monday.

The fire is said to have started from some shops located at the centre of the market, before it spread to other sections.

Fire fighters were drafted to the market to control the inferno.

Properties worth billions of naira — mostly belonging to traders selling clothes, shoes, kitchen utensils, carpets, plastics,  among others — were said to have been destroyed in the inferno.

Some of the traders who were affected narrated their ordeal to NAN.

Harisu Abdullahi, whose shop was destroyed, said it was difficult to ascertain the cause of the fire.

He, however, said he has left everything in the hands of Allah.

Aminu Ibrahim, another trader, noted that fire fighters were unable to reach areas where the outbreak started, because the access road had been blocked by some shops.

Another victim, Ibrahim Alaramma, who sells kitchen utensils, said he lost all his goods to the fire.

He added that 10 of his brothers lost everything to the fire as well.

The traders urged the government and other philanthropists to come to their aid as the fire had destroyed their sources of livelihood.

Meanwhile, Aminu Masari, governor of Katsina, has visited the market for an on-the-spot assessment of the situation.