100 arrested for looting burnt Kano market

100 arrested for looting burnt Kano market

Sunday, March 27, 2016 5:28 pm


*3,800 shops destroyed by the inferno, says NEMA

The Kano market fire when it was burning

The Kano market  when it was burning

No fewer than 100 suspected looters were arrested by security agents during the fire outbreak which burnt down 90 per cent of  the famous Sabon Gari market in Kano on Saturday.

The state commissioner of police, Mr Muhammad Katsina disclosed this when Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje visited the razed market on Sunday.

He said the suspects were apprehended by security personnel deployed to the market to ensure security of lives and property following the fire outbreak.

Katsina said the suspects were arrested in different locations of the market while trying to escape with their loots.

He said the suspects would be charged to court as soon as investigation was completed.

“The suspects are presently in our custody and as soon as investigation was concluded, they will be charged to court, “ Katsina said.

In his remarks, the governor said the state government had taken measures aimed at preventing future occurrence.

Ganduje, who, commiserated with the victims of the disaster and commended security personnel for ensuring adequate security during the incident.

He also thanked various private companies who supported the state Fire Service in putting out the inferno.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said on Sunday that at least 3,800 shops were destroyed by the fire.

Its Director-General, Alhaji Muhammad Sani Sidi Sidi, told newsmen at the scene of the incident in Kano, that the interim assessment of the situation, indicated that more than 90 per cent of the market had been destroyed by the fire.

The director-general explained that no fewer than 15 persons sustained various degrees of injury during the incident.

He, however, said that the injured were already receiving treatment at the hospital.

He said that lack of access roads made it slightly difficult for fire-fighting vehicles to have easy access to the market while the fire was raging.

“The incident was unprecedented and overwhelming and can negatively affect the economy of the country,” he said.


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