A massive fire broke out on Friday at the well-known mobile phone market in Kano State, destroying over 300 shops and causing the loss of properties worth billions of naira.
According to Chairman of the market association, Jamilu Gama, the inferno raged for approximately six to seven hours, devastating a large portion of the market, particularly the section where mobile phones and accessories are sold.
“It’s a tragedy we never anticipated,” Gama said. “Some shops stocked items valued at N500 million to N1 billion. Everything was reduced to ashes. The total damage could be up to N100 billion.”
Eyewitnesses described the scene as chaotic, with thick smoke and flames engulfing the market while traders and firefighters struggled to contain the blaze. Despite the lengthy firefighting effort, the cause of the fire remains unclear as of the time of filing this report.
“We still don’t know what triggered the fire,” Gama added. “We are waiting for the appropriate authorities to conduct an investigation.”
Traders, many of whom lost their entire livelihoods, gathered around the ruins in tears, expressing their devastation over the incident.
“No one could salvage anything,” one trader lamented. “Everything I’ve worked for in the past five years is gone.”
