Four shops and other valuables worth millions of naira have been destroyed by a fire outbreak at the Police Officers Wives Association (POWA), Plaza along Jos road, Lafia, Nasarawa State capital.
According to an eyewitness, the fire was caused by an electricity spark in one of the shops around 1am and lasted several hours.
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The source said the fire burnt most of the property in the building before the Nasarawa State Fire Service officials arrived to put it out.
He said, “The fire began around 1am on Tuesday. It burnt property worth millions of naira before the fire service personnel arrived at the scene of the incident.
“They could not completely put out the fire until 7am when more firefighters were sent to the place. More than seven shops were affected. A tailoring shop, a boutique, a solar shop and other big businesses were burnt to ashes.
“I wonder how the business owners will survive after these huge losses. The government should see how to help them out of the situation.”
Daily Trust reports that the POWA Plaza is beside the Office of the Area Commander of the Nigeria Police Force, Lafia, and opposite the 2023 campaign office of Governor Abdullahi Sule.
Narrating her ordeal to our correspondent owner of Kell’s couture shop, Mrs. Kelechi Akharengbe, said at about 1:30am, she recieved a distress call that her shop was on fire, adding that she quickly ran to the scene.
“But before I reached there, the fire had already burned down my clients’ cloths brought for sewing,” she said
Akharengbe stated that three industrial machines and four manual machines got burnt, adding that the losses could have been minimised if firefighters responded on time.
She said: “The industrial machine cost N220,000 each while the manual machines cost N85,000 each. All my clients’ cloths worth millions of naira were burnt to ashes.”
She appealed to the state government to come to her aid.
“I am back to square one. How do I explain to my clients? Where do I start from?” She lamented.
Another victim, owner of Zee-jat Empire, Mrs. Zainab Seidu, said she lost property worth millions of naira, and called on the state government to come to her aid.
“It was a very bad Tuesday morning. Where do I start from? It was a very bad experience. I have never been devastated like this,” she said..
The Nasarawa State Director of fire service, Mrs Hanatu George, stated that the fire outbreak was as a result of electrical fault, adding that four shops were affected.
She said firefighters responded promptly and prevented the spread of the fire to other areas of the shops.
She urged residents of the state to always be proactive and put off all their electrical appliances before leaving home or shops.
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