The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development Sadiya Umar-Farouq has expressed shock and sadness to the news of a fire incident at the popular Tipper Garage market in Abuja.
The fire that razed the Tipper Garage market on 3rd Avenue in Gwarimpa Abuja happened in the early hours of Thursday, February 5, 2021.
According to the statement released by the Special Assistant to the Minister on Media, Nneka Ikem Anibeze, said Umar-Farouq who sympathized with the Tipper Garage Market traders especially those who lost their lives in the inferno, described the outbreak as tragic.
Six traders who lost their lives in the fire were said to be trapped in their stalls having passed the night there.
According to eyewitnesses, a faulty electrical spark in one of the locked-up shops was the cause of the inferno.
Reports said the fire which started at midnight lasted over two hours before it was put out by the men of the FCT Fire Service.
Goods worth millions of Naira went up in flames while several other traders sustained various degrees of burns while many houses around the market were also affected by the fire.
The Minister sympathizes with families and relatives of the dead and prays God to grant them eternal rest.
Meanwhile, Minister Umar Farouq has since directed the National Emergency Management Agency to assess the damages caused by the fire for immediate provision of relief and intervention materials.