Edo Michael
Next Cash and Carry, one of the Abuja’s biggest shopping malls, was completely razed down by fire on Sunday.
The mall, which is situated in the Jahi District of the Federal Capital Territory went up in flames around 10:00 am Sunday morning.
A combination of FCT Fire Service, Guards Brigade Fire Service, Navy Fire Service and Julius Berger Fire Service were seen on ground trying to curtail the fire, even as thick smoke overwhelmed the premises.
While no casualty has been reported, business persons are already counting their losses, even as several citizens are seen looting some goods as the fire consumes others.
As of the time of filing this report, the cause of the fire remained officially unknown. Although some eyewitnesses attributed it to electrical faults. The road leading to the mall have been closed temporarily.
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The Head of Search and Rescue National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Abuja, Labuan Ahman who spoke with newsmen called for the quick support of mutual aid from fire services to contain the fire outbreaks.
“The whole of Next Cash and Carry is on fire. We have the FCT and Federal Fire Services on the ground. We are calling on all mutual aid fire services to deploy to Next Cash and Carry. The mutual aid fire services are Julius Berger, CBN, and then the Armed Forces.
“We are calling on the Armed Forces, the Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Air Force, and the Nigerian Army to provide support as they usually do,” Ahman said.
The mall is allegedly owned by Nigerian politician, Peter Obi, former Governor of Anambra State and 2019 Vice Presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP.
A lot of ordinary business people, however, depends on the mall for daily survival and sustainability.
