The Adamawa State Commissioner of Police, Gazali Mohammed, has confirmed the arrest of some people who embarked on looting as the Yola central market went up in flame in the early hours of today.
Gazali Mohammed, who was inspecting security deployment at the market, today did not however give the number of those arrested, but that adequate security measures have been provided at the scene to check activities of looters.
Many shop owners were said to have broken down in tears as a result of the losses suffered in the fire incident.
The Chairman of the market traders association, Mallam Ali Kachalla, said that 90 per cent of the market was affected.
“This is the worst fire incident i can remember in 50 years,” Kachalla said even as he called on the government come to the aid of the victims.
The state Coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Sa’ad Abubakar, said the fire started around 3am and that no life was lost.
Abubakar said that fire fighters from the state fire service, Nigerian Army, Nigerian Air Force, and the American University of Nigeria intervened to contain the inferno.
Meanwhile, the state Deputy Governor, Martins Babale, and the Deputy Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Alhaji Kabiru Mijinyawa, have visited the scene to sympathize with the traders.
This was even as Former Vice President and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has expressed sadness at the fire incidence in the Yola Central Market in.
In a statement by his media office, the former Vice President said the fire incident is one too many and called on authorities in charge of public places like markets, schools and factories to be extra vigilant at this period of the year.
The Turaki Adamawa said fire incidents during this period of harmattan can be quite devastating in its impact because of the prevalence of the dry wind blowing from the North East part of the country and which tends to lend a helping hand to otherwise containable fire outbreak to get out of hand.
The APC chieftain recalled that valuable property running into millions and at times human lives have been lost to devastating fires in many parts of the country of recent.
He called on the management of the Yola Central Market and other markets and places of business susceptible to fire outbreaks to work out ways and means of reducing fire outbreaks to the barest minimum.
Abubakar also challenged the various fire services in the country to improve on their readiness and preparedness to deal with fire outbreaks to reduce losses and the trauma usually caused the victims. [myad]
