A fire outbreak at Eda Plaza, a building materials market opposite Chida Hotel in Jabi, Abuja, has destroyed several shops and goods reportedly worth millions of naira.
The fire broke out in the early hours of Sunday, with shop owners rushing to the scene after receiving distress calls and attempting to salvage their belongings.
An eyewitness told the Nigerian Television Authority that the alarm was raised around 3am after his brother-in-law, who owns two shops and a packing store at the plaza, received a call from a colleague informing him of the fire.
He said the blaze had spread extensively by the time they arrived, destroying one of the shops and the packing store, while only one shop was saved.
According to the eyewitness, roofing materials worth more than N20 million were among the items destroyed. He added that some of the materials had only been restocked the previous night.
Despite the extent of the damage, no lives were lost in the incident.
Firefighters from the Federal Fire Department and Julius Berger responded to the emergency and battled the blaze for several hours before bringing it under control.
The head of the Julius Berger firefighting team said the company deployed two fire engines, two water tankers and eight firefighters to assist in the operation.
He urged members of the public to prioritise safety during fire emergencies by evacuating affected buildings and avoiding interference with firefighters.
The cause of the fire had not been established as of the time of filing this report.
