A midnight fire on Wednesday morning left hundreds of traders in despair at the Jos Main Market, also known as Terminus Market, in Plateau State.
The fire engulfed a market section where traders resettled after the government chased them away from the roadside last year.
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In the section, traders sell used clothes (popularly called Gwanjo or Okrika), shoes and baby clothes in stores constructed with wood and zinc.
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PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the fire began late Tuesday night and raged until early Wednesday morning as traders tried to salvage their goods. The cause of the fire was not determined as of the time of filing this report.
A trader, Misbau Kabara, said he ran to the inferno site around 2 a.m. to help salvage his stepmother’s goods. Mr Kabara told PREMIUM TIMES that security personnel shot in the air to stop miscreants trying to steal from the shops.
“Some people came to loot, and there were gunshots… so we left when the gunshots were getting too much,” he said via telephone.
“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.
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 in February 2001.
The 2001 disaster left businesses and families bankrupt, as many traders had not adopted modern banking.
Despite multiple attempts by the government to rebuild it, the market remained moribund, and traders erected makeshift stores around it. Irons and other valuables in the market were also vandalised before the government sealed it a few years ago.
Fear of unrest
At least two traders who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES raised concerns about speculations of arson.
According to a trader who did not want to be named, some people accused the government of starting the fire. However, they have provided no evidence to support their allegation.
The allegation probably arose from the fragile security situation in Plateau State, where ethnic and religious violence erupts frequently –a situation prevalent in Jos until a few years ago.
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Although Jos town has enjoyed years of peace, other areas continued to record persistent attacks, usually attributed to “Fulani herdsmen”.
On Christmas Eve 2023, about 200 people were killed across over a dozen communities in Bokkos, Mangu and Barkin Ladi local government areas in attacks and reprisals.
Just two weeks ago, more than 100 people were killed in attacks in Bokkos and Bassa LGAs.
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