Shops numbering to 600 have been engulfed by a fire on Thursday night at the old market in Bida ,Niger state.
News Agency of Nigeria reports that the fire started at 8.30pm, destroying goods and other valuables in the old market.Eye-witnesses reports that firemen from the Bida Fire Service and Federal Polytechnic Fire Service could not access the burnt section of the market as some shops were still in flames.
Although the cause of the fire could not be ascertained as of the time of this report, the Chairman , Niger state, Alhaji Mohammad Badugu,told NAN that the entire market was affected by the fire
Bagudu said:
“We are expecting more fire-fighting vehicles from Minna as our neighbouring local government’s fire-fighting engines are not in good condition”.
He confirmed that the Bida fire service and Federal Polytechnic fire service, the Police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and good Samaritans rallied to extinguish the fire.
According to the chairman, all the 600 shops in the old market were completely burnt and goods destroyed, including clothes, motorcycles, building materials, bags of maize, beans, rice, palm oil and poultry products.
Expressing shock at the development, he promised that the council would try to rebuild the market without delay.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Dibal Yakadi, confirmed the incident.
Yakadi said:
“My Area Commander is leading police personnel deployed to maintain the security of lives and property in the market’’.He explained that the police were there to prevent miscreants from stealing and to ensure the law and order in the market