A midnight fire outbreak has destroyed more than 500 makeshift shops at the Terminus Market, Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau.
Mrs Joyce Ramnap, the State’s Commissioner for Information and Communications, confirmed the incident to newsmen on Wednesday in Jos.
Ramnap, who visited the scene, said that the incident occurred about midnight on Wednesday.
The commissioner promised that the government would investigate to unravel cause of the inferno.
“From eye witness report, particularly from the leadership of the market, we gathered that an electric spark may have caused the the fire outbreak.
“But we are not going to leave it at that, we will investigate to ascertain the root cause of the outbreak.
“This is unfortunate because more 500 shops have been destroyed; this is huge economic lost to the state,”she said.
Ramnap, who commiserated with the traders, however, called on residents of the state to desist from spreading falsehood about the incident in the social media.
Chairman of the market, Mr Mustapha Ibrahim, who decried the huge loses incurred by the traders, called for government intervention to ameliorate the plight of the affected traders.(NAN)