According to reports, a midnight inferno erupted on Wednesday at the Jos Main Market popularly called Terminus Market plunging hundreds of traders into despair.
The fire consumed a section of the market where traders had been relocated after they were removed from roadside trading spots last year.
That area housed shops made of wood and zinc, mostly occupied by sellers of fairly used clothes, shoes, and children's wear.
Eyewitnesses said the fire began late Tuesday night and continued into early Wednesday as shop owners scrambled to rescue their wares. As of press time, the cause of the fire had not been identified.
One of the traders, Misbau Kabara, said he rushed to the scene around 2 a.m. to help his stepmother save her goods. He revealed that security operatives fired warning shots to prevent looting by hoodlums.
"Some people came to steal, and the gunshots became too intense, so we had to leave," Kabara said in a phone interview.
Read also:
He confirmed that the fire occurred within the already abandoned structure of the Jos Main Market, which was previously razed in February 2001.
Once hailed as the largest indoor market in West Africa and a tourist hotspot, the Jos Main Market has struggled to recover since the 2001 blaze, which left many business owners financially devastated.
Despite repeated efforts by the government to rebuild it, the market has remained in ruins, with traders setting up makeshift stalls around the premises.
Over time, iron fittings and other materials were looted before the market was sealed off by authorities.
