A six-man delegation from the Federal Government has visited the Katsina Government and victims of the Central Market following the fire outbreak that damaged hundreds of shops and destroyed properties worth billions of naira.
On arrival at the scene of the incident, where some elements of fire and smoke still persist, the Delegation was received by the Chairman of Traders Union Alhaji Abbas Labaran Alibaba and some selected members of the Union including some victims.
The Delegation however went round with the market officials and victims to get first-hand information and access the level of damages in the affected areas where the Delegation expressed shock and sadness over the incident.
The Delegation comprising the Minister of Interior, Alhaji Ra’uf Aregbosola, Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, Minister of Police Affairs, Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami as well as the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sa’adiyya Umar Faruq and the President’s Spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu.
Others in the company of the Delegation were the Katsina State Commissioner for Health, Yakubu Nuhu Danja, Director General of the State Emergency Management Agency, Babangida Nasamu, and Commissioner of Police, Sanusi Buba, and the State Commandant of the NSCDC, Muhammad Surajo Gusau among other Federal and State Government Officials.
While speaking on behalf of the Delegation at both the Katsina Central Market and the council chambers of the Katsina Government House, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami extended president Muhammadu Buhari’s exceptional symphathy message to the victims stating that the president is with them in prayers that God would grant them the fortitude to bear the irreparable lost and to prevent future occurrence.
Malami further assured the determination of the Federal Government to support the victims in whatever capacity adding that the president is sharing with them in prayers and that he also identified with the victims affected.
The Katsina State Governor, Aminu Masari in his response, thanked the delegation for the visit, saying that had the inferno occurred in the night, only God knows how damaging it would have been.
He commended the effort, perseverance, commitment, and determination of both the Federal and State teams of the Fire Service at the peak of the incident, adding that the state government had set up a Committee to find out the root causes, the level of destruction and those affected and how to bring improvement into the market in order to forestall the similar occurrence.
“As Muslims, we have absolute faith that God’s actions are never in question, thus are always perfect. So we take this in good faith. Certainly in Katsina State, we have never witnessed the magnitude of Fire outbreak disaster like this one”. He added.
Channels Television recalled that the fire outbreak suspected to have been caused by a gas cylinder explosion on Monday morning raised hundreds of shops down and destroyed property worth billions of Naira at the market.
An eye witness and one of the shop owners, Alhaji Abbas Labaran explained that the inferno which started from the unity bank located in heart of the market at about 7:30 am further spread to other market stalls.
On Monday morning a heavy thick cloud of smoke from any part of the Katsina metropolis formed by the fire outbreak.
Despite the effort of firefighters to extinguish the fire, it’s still on the increase with hundreds of shop owners and traders continue to count their losses.
Governor Aminu Masari was among the teaming sympatisers who visited the market as he still awaits first-hand information from the authorities concerned regarding the root cause of the incident.
Meanwhile, the combined teams of both the Federal and State Fire Service are currently at the affected areas, making effort to extinguish the inferno with smoke still persisting.
