•Fire outbreak
The Fatima Simra Multi-Purpose Market, located at the Dakata Small Scale and Industry Multi-Purpose Market, was engulfed in the wee hours of today, destroying not less than 50 shops.
The Public Relations Officer of the Kano Fire Service, Saminu Abdullahi, confirmed the incident to our correspondent.
Abdullahi noted that the fire started at 5:50 AM and that the fire service is still battling to put it out, reports Channels TV.
He noted that they have yet to ascertain the level of damage caused, as investigations will soon begin.
Most of the affected shops are into oil production and recycling of nylon and plastics.
This is coming barely six days after the Singer Market inferno destroyed over 1,000 shops.
The fire incident was said to have destroyed properties worth over ₦5 billion and also affected more than 1,000 businesses. Several people were also missing.
Junaid Zakari, the chairman of the market, described the inferno as one of the worst tragedies in the history of the market.
He said that about four residential buildings housing small-scale businesses were totally razed by the fire.
“This is one of the darkest moments we have experienced in Singer Market. Properties worth over ₦5 billion have been lost,” Zakari stated.
“More than 1,000 shops and businesses have been affected, and the livelihoods of hundreds of families have been crippled.”
The market leader asked the government, organisations, and other well-meaning people to help the traders.
“This tragedy will not be forgotten in the history of Singer Market. We are appealing to the government, corporate organisations, and well-meaning individuals to come to our aid so that our people can stand on their feet again,” he said.
Governor Abba Yusuf later visited the Singer to assess the damage and lauded security agencies and firefighters for their efforts.
The governor asked the federal government to intervene by ensuring the provision of modern firefighting equipment to help in fighting and preventing future recurrences.
Singer Market is one of the major commercial hubs in the North-West state.
