Abuja – January 18, 2024 – Viewpoint Housing News.
Close to a hundred shops, at the popular old Panteka market located near the Tudun Wada Campus of the Kaduna Polytechnic., are said to have been burnt down, destroying goods valued at millions of naira.
The market’s wood sellers segment was most impacted by the fire
The fire began a few minutes after midnight, according to market union secretary Ibrahim Muhammad, who also told the media that the fire brigade was able to contain it before it spread to other areas of the market.
According to information obtained by the market’s security, the fire originated in the wood vendors’ area early on Wednesday morning, a few minutes after midnight.
“It took the intervention of the fire service from Jaji to put off the fire which lasted till 5am. Over 100 shops have been affected and the loss is unquantifiable at this time.”
He however noted that the cause of the fire had not been ascertained.
The Chairman of the market union, Alhaji Suleiman Shehu expressed shock over the loss and said the affected traders will need the government’s support.
While commending the effort of the fire service, he noted that a committee has been set up to find out the cause of the fire and to also forestall a reoccurrence.
“Millions of naira has been lost because these traders bring in wood in trailers. The sad thing however is that most of the traders collect the goods or credit and pay after the sale while others collect loans from the bank for capital.” he added.
He appealed to the government to support the affected traders especially during these hard times.
