A midnight fire has gutted the popular Sabon Gari Market in Kano, destroying property worth millions of Naira.
Eyewitnesses report that the fire, which started around 12:30am, destroyed several shops in the market.
The inferno was still raging 10 hours after it started as men of the state fire service battled to control it.
When contacted, Director of the Kano State Fire Service, Alhaji Mustapha Rulwan, said the fire started at about 1am and had destroyed several shops in the market.
According to him, the fire started at the footwear section of the market.
He said: “Our men are still trying to put out the fire.
“As I am talking to you now, we are in the market.”
This is the second time in five months that the Sabon Gari Market has been gutted by fire.
The Birnin Kebbi Central Market was also gutted by fire in the early hours of Saturday.
Like it happened in Kano, property worth millions of naira was destroyed but no life was lost.
Alhaji Abubakar Bandam, the Chairman of the Central Market Management, who told newsmen in Birnin Kebbi that the fire was noticed at about 12 midnight, explained that the source of the inferno was yet to be determined.
Bandam said the management of the market was working closely with security agencies to identify the cause, just as he commended the state fire service for its prompt response.
Kebbi State Director of Fire Service, Alhaji Bello Zagga, told NAN the fire lasted for several hours because fire fighting vans did not have easy access to the spot of the inferno.
Zagga said although the source of the fire was yet to be identified, suspected sources could be illegal electrical wiring and connections in shops.
Chief of Staff of the Government House, Alhaji Suleiman Argungu, and the Emir of Gwandu, Alhaji Mohammad Bashar, visited the scene to sympathise with traders who lost their goods.
