A Fire incident has destroyed property worth over 50 million naira and burnt more than 90 shops at Bababa Plaza in Wunti market Bauchi.
The incident which occurred on Friday night was suspected to have been triggered by an electricity fault after traders transacting at the plaza closed for the day.
Alhaji Murtala Mai Yadi, Chairman of Bababa Plaza Traders Association, told our correspondent that the inferno started out from one of the shops on the first floor of the complex minutes after PHCN restored power supply to the market.
He said that even though the attention of Bauchi State Fire Fighters was drawn to the scene on time, the inferno could not be controlled due to a shortage of firefighting gadgets at the disposal of the fighters.
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“We call on the state government to consider expanding and equipping its Fire Service because Bauchi metropolis has expanded and fire outbreaks are being recorded frequently,” the Chairman pleaded.
The Chairman recounted the initial findings of their investigation into the extent of destruction the fire caused revealed that property worth over 50 million naira were lost to the firestorm.
He added that more than 90 shops situated on the first floor of the complex were razed down completely leaving behind the wreckage.
Alhaji Murtala Mai Yadi said his office is still collating damage figures from the affected merchants to ascertain the actual amount lost to the fire.
Alhaji Murtala commended Governor Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed for sympathising with them over the disaster that befalls them when he visited the scene of the incident at the helm of the flames.
The Chairman said that the Governor has directed Bauchi State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, to carry out a thorough investigation into the extent of damage the furnace caused to see how government can intervene to assuage the plight of the victims.
Confirming the incident, Police Public Relations Officer Bauchi State Police Command, SP Ahmed Muhammed Wakil said the police patrol team from A-Division received a distress call alerting it about the inferno at about 11:25pm on Friday and rushed to the area to prevent hoodlums from scavenging shops affected or not affected by the fire.
SP Ahmed Muhammed Wakil explained that more than 80 shops were razed by the conflagration leaving items worth millions of naira burnt to ashes.
He said Bauchi State Police Command sympathized with the affected merchants at this moment of their grief warning people to ensure that all electric appliances in their offices or shops are switched off after closing.
He said that police investigation is on to determine the immediate trigger of the incident.
Ifoma David, a hairdresser operating at the market whose shop was burnt told WikkiTimes that she lost items costing nearly two million naira.
Bashir Zwall, another victim who sells and repairs computers at the market recounted that computers worth over 45 million naira
were burnt.
