Fire razes 5 shops, owners lament losses

An early morning fire has razed five shops at Lugbe Market in Abuja, with property worth millions of naira destroyed,the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

Mr Irine Samuel, an eye-witness, told NAN that some residents of the area observed smoke billowing out of the roof of a building at about two a.m. and immediately contacted the FCT Fire Service.

Samuel suggested that the fire might have been caused by wrong electrical wire connections.

One owner of the affected shops, Mr Lawrence Ugwuanyi, still in shock, told NAN that he re-stocked his shop on Thursday.

"I operate a provisions shop here and it was only yesterday that I re-stocked my shop with about N150,000, mostly on credit.

"This type of incident has never happened before and I do not know where to go from here,’’ he complained.

Mr Jerry Kennedy, a fashion designer, said that he lost eight sewing machines and different fabrics belonging to his customers.

"I am confused now because I do not know where to start from; and not every customer will show understanding in a situation like this,'' he said.

Mr Tiye Dogo, the landlord of the block of five burnt shops, said that the he was fast asleep when the fire broke out.

"I was asleep when neighbours woke me up that my building was on fire.

"I immediately put a call through to the FCT service, but before they could respond, the shops were already razed,’’ he said.

According to him, the rent on each of the shops is N75, 000 per year.

"Those shops were my source of income. where do I start from now?’’ he asked.