23rd January, 2024
By Ahmed Abba
Traders at the popular GSM market, popularly called “Kasuwar Jagwal,” in Damaturu, the capital Yobe have called on the government for assistance after early morning consumed assorted goods estimated to be worth N150 million in their shops early on Tuesday.
The Chairman of the Damaturu Trader’s Association confirmed that traders in the market lost goods worth N150 million to the fire incident which he attributed to an electrical fault.
He, however, however said though the firefighters were there early enough, they could not put out the fire because their pumps were faulty.
“It was early this morning that I received a call about what was happening, and we quickly rushed to the scene.
“Then, there were about three shops that were on fire. The firefighters were there, but their water pump was faulty, so they could not put off the fire,” he explained.
Ali said that police personnel were also at thhe sceñe to assist and prevent pilfering of traders’ goods by hoodlums.
Also, one Yahya Ngubdo, a trader of sorghum in the market, said traders in the commodity lost a total of 130 bags as a result of the incident.
He called on the state government and well-meaning individuals to come to the assistance of the affected traders and mitigate their losses .
Confirming the incident to journalists in Damaturu, the Public Relations Officer of the Yobe State Fire Service, said that no fewer than 30 shops were destroyed by the fire.
“At about 5:50 a.m. this morning, we received a distress call notifying us of the incident. A few minutes later, our team arrived the scene, but a lot of damage had already been done at the time,’’ he said.
Bello added that investigations revealed that the fire was caused by surge in electricity supply to the area.
He advised members of the public to always switch off electrical appliances and unplug their cables from power sources before going to sleep or closing their shops for the day.
(NAN)