Victims of the Sokoto Central Market fire said they lost goods and properties worth over N600 million, and appealed for immediate assistance from the state government.
No fewer than 200 traders were affected by the fire which occurred on Sunday night at about
7.30pm.
The market deals mostly in Islamic books, Islamic medicine, provisions, footwear and clothing materials.
Speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday, the Chairman of the Islamic Books and Medicine Sellers Association, Alhaji Manniru Adamu, said members have lost their means of livelihood to the inferno.
“We have lost everything to the fire and we are appealing to the state and federal governments to urgently come to our aid. This is to enable us to bounce back and continue with our businesses,” Adamu said.
He commended the efforts of the Sokoto State Fire Service, traders and good Samaritans who battled to put out the fire until the early hours of Monday.
The Chairman also called on the Sokoto State Government to allow them to build permanent structures to replace the temporary shops and containers that were destroyed.
Also speaking, one of the victims, Nata’ala Abbas Babi, said eight of his siblings lost goods to the fire and urged government to urgently assist them to resume their businesses.
In the alternative, Babi appealed to government to allocate to them shops in another section of the market that was razed years ago and had now been reconstructed by the current administration.
“These shops were razed in another separate inferno during the last administration and they have been fully reconstructed by the current administration. Therefore, allocating these shops to us will really help in re-energizing our businesses,” he said.
Confirming the incident, the Director of Administration of Sokoto Central Market, Alhaji Kabiru Danmallam, told NAN on Tuesday at the market that the incident had been reported to the state government.
“Yes, it is true and we have duly reported the incident to the state government and we are awaiting its further actions,” Danmallam said.
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