No fewer than 16 shops have been burnt to ashes in the fire incident that engulfed Muda Lawal Market in Bauchi metropolis .
The Public Relations Officer of the Bauchi State Fire Service Muhammad T Bature confirmed the incident in Friday.
He said the incident happened In the afternoon and “when we heard about the incident the state Director Fire Service mobilized our personnel to the scene with five fire fighting trucks, including one from Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University and we successfully the fire.”
He said investigation is on to ascertain the damages or loss incurred by the traders, who alleged that black marketers operating at the market caused the inferno.
A part of Jumu’ah Mosque near the vicinity of the market was also affected.
Usman Bala, a trader, said he was in front of the mosque when the incident happened, adding that it started in front of the shop of the black market dealers before it escalated to other nearby shops.
“We just saw a heavy black smoke in the air and felt the heat of fire everywhere. The fire destroyed goods worth millions of naira.
“This is the second time within this year that fire inferno occurred in the market,” he said.
