The Nation Newspaper

Tag: fire

  • Fire razes 300 shops, vehicles in Ibadan market

    Fire razes 300 shops, vehicles in Ibadan market

    •300 shops, 50 sawing machines destroyed
    •Govt raises investigative panel

    For the second time in three days, residents wept and wailed as the Sango plank market in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, was razed by an early morning inferno.

    Over 300 shops, goods worth millions of naira, 50 sawing machines and three vehicles were destroyed.

    Unlike the Christmas Day disaster, which affected mostly plank sellers, the sawing machines section was badly hit yesterday.It lost about 100 machines.

    Sources said the fire was first noticed at midnight on Monday. Some people were allegedly sighted moving round the burnt areas suspiciously. The fire later spread to other parts of the sawing machines section.

    It was gathered that efforts by traders and others, who were alerted through the Alaro Central Mosque public address system, to put out the fire failed.

    The sources said traders and police tried in vain to reach the State Fire Service.

    Governor Abiola Ajimobi has said the government would raise a panel to investigate the fires.

    Tension is mounting in the plank market, as many believed that some people might have intentionally burnt the market to avenge last Friday’s incident.

    Ajimobi was represented by the Special Adviser on Communication and Strategy, Yomi Layinka.

    He was accompanied by Head of Service Soji Eniade; former Secretary to the State Government Ismail Olalekan-Alli; former Special Adviser on Political Matters Gbade Ojo and former Special Adviser on Security Segun Abolarinwa.

    Addressing reporters, Ajimobi said: “We are here to examine the extent of damage and to know the causes of the incident. That is the one that happened on Friday and the other that occurred early yesterday.

    The governor declared: “We will not tolerate this kind of situation; arson is not what we must allow in any community within the state. This government holds preservation of life and property dearly.

    “This is a state where everybody has the right to live and trade within the limit of the constitution.

    “Security operatives have been put on the red alert to guard the market to prevent further losses.”

    The Chairman of the market association, Oladipo Faseyitan, said the first incident was caused by a gas explosion from a nearby building. The second, he claimed, could have been caused by a group of people, who claimed to be the land owners.

    He explained that his members had been battling land owners, who wanted them ened out of the community.

    The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Sango Police Station, Mrs. Joyce Maiyaki, said the police had been providing security in the area.

    She praised the fire service for its prompt response in putting out the fire.

    One of the elders of the Ibadan Timber Dealers Association, Sango branch, Ibadan, Olayinka Ojo, said the first incident was as a result of a burning gas cooker thrown into the market from a neighbouring house.

    He noted that the second incident was suspicious owing to the information available to them.

    Ojo, however, ruled out a crisis situation, noting that the elders and executive committee were working to ensure that things did not get out of hand.

    He added that they were waiting on the next line of advice from the government.

  • Fire razes over 300 shops in Ibadan plank market

    Fire razes over 300 shops in Ibadan plank market

    It was weeping and wailing Monday as over 300 shops, and other items worth millions of naira were again razed at Sango plank market in Ibadan in an early morning inferno.

    Also, no fewer than 50 sawing machines, three vehicles comprising of a truck and two cars were burnt into ashes in the inferno.

    Governor Abiola Ajimobi has declared that Oyo state government will raise a panel to investigate the circumstances surrounding the fire incidents that razed the plank market twice in three days as tension is mounting in the plank market over an insinuation that some people might have allegedly intentionally set the place ablaze to revenge the last Friday fire disaster which razed over 200 plank shops within the market.

    Unlike the last Friday fire disaster which affected mostly plank sellers shops, the Monday inferno completely burnt down the sawing machines section of the market with no fewer than 100 machines of various kinds burnt.

    Sources at the market said the fire was first noticed at about 12am on Monday during which some people were allegedly sighted moving round the burnt areas suspiciously after which the fire spread to other parts of the sawing machines section.

    It was gathered that all efforts by the traders and others who were alerted of the fire incident through the Alaro Central mosque public address system to put the raging fire off failed.

    Sources at the market said all efforts by the traders and the police team at getting across to the men of the Oyo state Fire brigade service failed as the plank sellers waited for hours watching helplessly the fire destroying their belongings with no single fire fighting vehicle coming towards their direction.

    When visited Monday, the traders were seen weeping and wailing with others parking the ashes of the belongings including the burnt sawing machines of different types as well as the burnt vehicles.

    It was observed that the incident has finally grounded commercial and others activities within the market over tension on the safety of the remaining part of the plank market from possible inferno in the next few days

    Governor Ajimobi who was represented by the Special Adviser on Communication and Strategy, Mr. Yomi Layinka; the Head of Service, Mr. Soji Eniade; a former Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Ismail Olalekan-Alli; a former Special Adviser on Political Matters, Dr. Gbade Ojo; and a former Special Adviser on Security, Mr. Segun Abolarinwa during the
    visit expressed worries that the market could record two fire incidences within three days.

    Addressing newsmen through his Special Adviser on Communication and Strategy, Mr. Yomi Layinka said, “We are here to examine the extent of damage and to know the causes of the fire incident. Both the one that happened on Friday and the other that occurred in the early hours of Monday.

    The governor declared that amidst allegation of some conspiracy in the fire incident that gutted the market, the government shall thoroughly investigate the immediate and remote causes of the incidents to ensure that whoever is responsible is brought to justice.

    “We will not tolerate this kind of situation; arson is not what we must allow in any community within the state. This government holds preservation of lives and property very dearly.
    This is a state where everybody has the right to live and trade within the limit of the Constitution,” he said.

    While appealing for calm among the traders and members of the affected community, the governor said security operatives had been put on red alert to guide the market in order to prevent further losses.

    Earlier, the Chairman of the market association, Mr. Oladipo Faseyitan, while narrating the fire incident, said while the first fire incident was caused by a gas explosion from a nearby building, the second one could have been caused by a group of people who claimed to be the land owners.

    He explained that his members had for some time been having running battles with the land owners who had told them to either vacate the community or face dire consequence.

    Also, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of Sango Police Station, Mrs. Joyce Maiyaki, said the police had been providing adequate security in the area just as she commended the state fire service for its prompt response in putting out the fire.

  • Fire destroys 20 shops in Ilorin

    A midnight inferno at the weekend destroyed 20 shops at Ojo-Tuntun market in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

    The fire destroyed goods worth millions of naira and burnt money left by shop owners.

    A source said the incident was caused by a spark from a cable when there was an outage.

    Guards were said to have noticed smoke from one of the shops and called the market leadership.

    An eyewitness said the prompt response of fire officials prevented the inferno from spreading.

    Chairman of Ilorin West Local Government Alhaji Tajudeen Zulu-Oloje  said he received a distress call from one of the market executives about 2am that shops were on fire.

    He said the council was short of cash, but would rebuild the shops.

    Zulu-Oloje hailed the fire officials for their response.

  • Fire razes 200 shops at Ibadan plank market

    It was a black Christmas for about 200 plank retailers in Sango Plank Market, Ibadan, Oyo State capital on Friday.

    More than 200 shops were burnt to ashes at the market located in Alaro area of Sango.

    The fire was said to have started at about 3:00 pm and it was still burning as at 7.30pm with the men of the Oyo State Fire Service struggling to put it out.
    The loss in the fire is estimated at N250 million.

    The cause of the fire was unknown as at press time.

    It was gathered that the fire was fuelled by the large stock of planks in each of the shops and heaps of saw dust scattered around the market, coupled with the effect of the dry season.

    Only one fire service tanker was at the scene of the incident.

    As a form of self help, traders ordered tankers of water add to the water needed by fire fighters.

    The traders wailed as they saw their wares in flames with efforts too little to quench the raging fire.

    One of the traders, who simply identified himself as Adegoke, expressed shock at the incident. He recalled that he left his shop around 2.30pm after coming from home to attend to a customer who urgently needed some planks. He explained that he received a call that the market was on fire about 30 minutes later.

    His words: “Because Friday is Christmas, I decided to observe the festival at home like many of our members. But a customer called me on my mobile telephone while I was at home. He said he urgently needed to buy some planks so I boarded a commercial motorcycle to the shop. After the transaction, I closed the shop and went back home. I was still on the way when I had the call that the shops had caught fire.”

    Emphasizing that he lost stock worth N3.5 million in the inferno, Adegoke said: “I am a medium-sized trader but we have some of us with planks and equipment worth more than N5m in their shops.”

    Apart from the planks, several sawing machines and other logging equipment were lost in the fire.

  • Fire razes 65 shops in Kano market

    Fire razes 65 shops in Kano market

    No fewer than 65 shops were destroyed by fire in the furniture section of Sabon Gari Market in Kano on Thursday night, an official said.

    The Director of Kano State Fire Service, Alhaji Balarabe Kabara, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday that the incident, which occurred around 8:30 p.m. affected permanent and temporary structures.

    Kabara attributed the fire to negligence but said the agency would meet with the affected traders to ascertain what they lost individually.

    “The main cause of the inferno is negligence because people are in the habit of playing with fire, especially now that it is harmattan period,” he said.

    Kabara advised the people to avoid unnecessary use of fire as any mistake could lead to fire disaster.

    Kabara recalled that seven female students recently lost their lives in fire incidents in two secondary schools in the state and advised school authorities to ensure proper monitoring of students.

    Kabara also advised students to desist from cooking and using electrical appliances, especially water heater and pressing iron, in their hostels to avoid fire outbreaks.

  • Fire razes 118 shops in Jos Kabong market

    Fire razes 118 shops in Jos Kabong market

    A raging night inferno razed 118 shops at the Kabong market in Jos North on Thursday morning, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

    A NAN correspondent, who visited the market, could not access the burnt section as some shops were still in flames.

    Others also had thick smoke billowing from them, making visibility very difficult.

    The actual cause of the fire could not be ascertained, but Mr Christopher Jama, Chairman, Kabong Market Traders Association, who briefed the governor- when he visited the scene, said the fire started by 4:00am.

    Jama claimed that the fire was caused by an electrical spark when public power supply was restored in the night.

    He told Gov. Simon Lalong that 118 shops were completely burnt, and noted that goods destroyed included bags of maize, beans, rice, and poultry products.

    He appealed to the governor to come to the aid of the affected traders ‘whose means of livelihood had been destroyed’.

    Lalong, who expressed “deep shock” at the development, promised to remodel the market and also address the traders plight.

    “Government was already working towards remodeling before the inferno,” he said.

    He however, expressed gratitude to God that no life was lost.

    The governor directed the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce to liaise with the market union to get details of the incident.

    NAN reports that the market was still inaccessible as at the time of the governor’s visit as smoke was still billowing from the burnt shops

  • N89b properties, cash gone in fire

    N89b properties, cash gone in fire

    CASH and properties worth N89.26 billion were lost in fire between January and last month, Lagos State Fire Service said yesterday.

    Over 1,558 emergency calls were received during the period, the state fire chief, Rasak Fadipe, told reporters in his Alausa, Ikeja office.

    He warned  residents against storing petrol at home because of the product’s scarcity, urging them to be safety-conscious.

    Fadipe lamented the rise in fires, which he said, led to “avoidable colossal loss of lives and properties.”

    “This figure attests to the fact that people are yet to comply with the safety advocacy campaign of the government and this has become a source of concern,” he said.

    The agency, Fadipe said, has been repositioned and transformed with new equipment to meet the challenges of a mega city.

    No fire, he said, was small or big considering the havoc caused in its aftermath.

    Buying fuel in jerry cans or containers and storing at home, vehicle booths or within the premise of the office pose great danger, he said, urging parents to warn their children against careless handling of electronic appliances, naked lights and gas cookers, amongst others, which are major causes of fires.

    Fadipe said basic portable fire protection equipment, such as fire extinguisher, fire blanket and fire alarm system should be kept handy to prevent the spread of fire when it occurs.

    He advised filling stations to avoid dispensing fuel in polythene bags; selling to vehicles with engines runnings and  disallow clustering of motorists around pumps to avoid scuffle that can spark fire.

    They should also ensure safety within the station and should not hesitate to call the  fire service on 112 and 767  in case of emergency.

  • Fire guts stalls

    An overnight fire outbreak which occurred at the UBA Bank Road of EKSU destroyed about 36 market stalls leading to loss of property worth millions of naira.

    The business area has a large concentration of canteens and business centres patronized by students and workers.

    One of the victims, simply known as Alhaja Tawakalitu, said the fire started at 12.45am from a food canteen at the west end of the area.

    Another victim, a Business Centre Operator, Mr. Ayegbusi Anifowose, who is a retired teacher, said he invested his entire retirement gratuity to set up his business.

    Another shop owner, Mr. Gideon Fabiyi, claimed that he had thirteen machines including Photocopier machines, binding machine, and many others totally destroyed.

    Both Mr. Akinwumi Caleb and Mrs. Opoli Florence were in tears lamenting the unfortunate incident saying that students’ projects and thesis under production were not spared in the inferno.

    The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Development) Prof. Victor Adoluwa who arrived early in the morning at the venue, sympathized with the victims, and assured them of immediate response from the relevant authorities.

    The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Patrick Aina, who was returning from an official trip visited the scene and expressed deep sympathy for the loss of property.

    He promised to collaborate with the National Emergency Agency (NEMA) and seek support of Governor Ayodele Fayose to alleviate the suffering of the victims.

     

  • Subsidy removal call: Emir Sanusi under fire

    Subsidy removal call: Emir Sanusi under fire

    Emir of Kano Muhammad Sanusi II yesterday came under fire for calling for the devaluation of the naira and removal of petrol subsidy.

    Labour, a senator and others advised President Muhammadu Buhari to ignore the emir, describing his demand as not good for the poor.

    Heeding the call will take the economy back, rather than ginger it as suggested by the Emir.

    The emir, who is the immediate past governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), spoke last week in Lagos, after receiving a Life Time Achievement Award at the All Africa Business Leaders Award West Africa.

    He said: “Does it make sense at this time for the government to continue paying petroleum subsidies? It does not! When you are not earning because oil prices are down, you have to shut down those expense lines that had been known historically to be the site of rent-seeking.

    “Fuel subsidy has to go, our tax base has to expand, value added tax (VAT) has to go up. We can’t continue having an economy in which we collect tax from oil, collect tax from telecoms companies, and then 60-70 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) does not pay taxes. This is something that has to be looked at.”

    Sanusi added: “I know that the government has announced its position on exchange rate… It is wrong to continue to pretend that you can keep the naira at a certain level, when the price of oil is falling, without depleting your reserves. You have to make a choice.”

    Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Group Managing Director Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, told the Senate during his ministerial screening that the president is not inclined to subsidy removal as things stand now.

    CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele has also said the governent would not devalue the naira, which is exchanged for N197 to the dollar at the official market.

    Yesterday, Senator Shehu Sani (Kaduna central) on his facebook page said: “I stand opposed to the devaluation of our national currency and; I stand opposed to removal of subsidy. Devaluing the naira and removing subsidy will worsen inflation, aggravate poverty and ignite a national uprising.

    “Decades of adoption of such capitalist economic strategies by many countries in the developing world especially Africa led those nations to economic quagmire and paralyses.

    “The poor must not continue to pay the price for the corruption and mismanagement perpetrated by past governments.”

    An economic analyst, Mr. Henry Boyo, said: “I think we should ask what should be the implications of doing either or both of those recommendations. If you devalue the naira, there are a numbers of things that will happen. You will find that the cost of production in Nigeria will go up. You will also find that this will have an intimidating effect on the rate of inflation. You will find also that if Nigerian industries remain uncompetitive, they will reduce capacity and lay off workers. That will mean an additional burden on the level of unemployment in the country.

    “You must recognise that the issue of devaluation of the naira is very closely tied to the issue of subsidy. On the other hand, instead of devaluing the naira, you follow a process that will actually make naira exchange rate to appreciate.”

    Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) President Comrade Boboi Kaigama, said labour would not accept any further devaluation of the naira or subsidy removal on petroleum products.

    “We see them as his personal views and we want to make it clear to him and anybody who wants to listen to his advice that it is not palatable to labour. We will never accept any further devaluation of the naira and we will not be part of the removal of oil subsidy.

    “The government should wait for the consequence of listening to this call because by removing oil subsidy, you are further impoverishing Nigerians.

    “We want a situation where those behind the subsidy scam are punished, then put our refineries in place, come back and discuss with organised labour and let us see whether it is feasible.

    “Otherwise, without putting refineries in place and putting palliatives in place to check increase in prices of goods and transportation and  you are calling for the removal of oil subsidy, I think you are very naive when it comes to looking at the consequence of the issue of removal of oil subsidy”

    Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President Ayuba Wabba described the call for the subsidy removal as anti-masses which will further impoverish Nigerians.

    The call, he said, reflected the fact that the former CBN chief has lost touch with realities.

    He said labour would continue to fight any policy or calls that will bring hardship to the masses.

    The former CBN governor, he said, was speaking the minds of the capitalists, marketers and those who want to milk the country dry.

    “We are not in support of that call. There is no doubt that the former CBN governor is no more connected with the people. This is the language of the capitalists, the marketers and those who want to milk the country dry.

    “But, we are happy that President Buhari is a former Petroleum Minister and he knows all the rot in the system. We urge him not to look back and we will continue to support him,” Wabba said.

    General Secretary of the National Union of Textile and Garment Workers of Nigeria (NUTGWN), Mr Isa Aremu, said the former CBN governor was right to have advised the in-coming ministers against “flattery’’ of the President.

    Buhari must also be wary of policy dictatorship that will further undermine growth and development as well as worsen poverty in the country, he added.

    “There is no choice for the President between policy sycophancy and policy dictatorship/policy ambush.

    “Emir Sanusi must rethink outside the box of neo-liberal IMF’s unhelpful policies of devaluation (which he commendably rejected as CBN governor).

    “Nigeria needs a new paradigm of bold policy choices and new star-words in place of boring ideological mantra of devaluation and subsidy removal.

    “The naira in recent times lost its value drastically to the existing devalued rate of N197 to a dollar.”

  • Fire guts Abuja’s Grand Square shopping mall

    There was pandemonium Friday as one of Abuja’s leading shopping mall, Grand Square, located at the Central Business District, was razed by fire.

    The fire, according to eyewitnesses, began precisely at about 12 midnight.

    An eye witness, who owns a kiosk opposite the departmental store, told The Nation that the fire began at about 12 midnight, but was not put out until about 11am on Friday morning.

    Fire fighters were able to prevent the fire from engulfing the entire mall.

    As at press time, the actual cause of the fire and extent of damage was not ascertained as security men prevented Journalists entrance into the premises.

    “We have been instruction not to let anyone inside,” one of the security men said.

    Confirming the incident however, one of the security men on duty said it was however not his brief to disclose the details of the inferno and the extent of damage to journalists.

    His words: “Sorry some journalists have been coming since morning but the owner of the place told us not to talk to you people (journalists), but that he will personally address the press eventually.”

    Until at about 5pm, when our correspondent revisited the scene, rescue work was still ongoing.

    Every attempt to get the management of the shopping mall to speak was futile as nobody was willing to talk.

    According to findings, property worth millions of naira was destroyed by the fire and it was learnt that the electronic section was badly affected.