The Jos Main Market, also known as Terminus Market, in Plateau State was on midnight of Wednesday destroyed by fire which left hundreds of traders in despair while most affected section was where traders sell used clothes (popularly called Gwanjo or Okrika), shoes and baby clothes in stores constructed with wood and zinc.
Penpushing reports that the market section is where traders resettled after the Plateau state government chased them away from the roadside last year, while sources added that the fire began late Tuesday night.
The fire raged until early Wednesday morning as traders tried to salvage their goods, while as at the time of filing this report the cause of the fire was yet unknown, and a trader, Misbau Kabara, explained that he ran to the inferno site around 2 a.m. to help salvage his stepmother’s goods.
Penpushing further reports that the trader said security personnel shot in the air to stop miscreants trying to steal from the shops, adding that some miscreants came to loot,
“Some people came to loot, and there were gunshots… so we left when the gunshots were getting too much. It’s inside the Terminus Market – the main market that was already burnt. The fire happened inside. No one knew how it happened’, he added.
Penpushing also reports that it is recalled that in February 2001, the Jos Main Market, once famed as the largest indoor market in West Africa and a tourist attraction for Plateau State, was destroyed by fire, a development which left businesses and families bankrupt, as many traders had not adopted modern banking.
FOOTNOTE: You want to share story with us? You want to advertise with us? You need publicity for product, or service, or event? Contact us on WhatsApp +2348073463653 or email penpushing@yahoo.com
