By Abdulsalam Muhammad

Fire, yesterday, destroyed over 4,000 shops at Abubakar Rimi Market, Sabon Gari, Kano.

The midnight inferno, allegedly triggered by power surge, reduced to ash property worth millions   of naira.

But Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO) distanced itself from the unfortunate incident.

Briefing reporters,  KEDCO   Chief Customer Relations Officer,   Abubakar Yusuf, said the market feeder was out of circuit at the time of the incident

Yusuf explained:  “Our transformer located within the market is intact and it is there for anyone to examine and pass judgement”.

Eyewitnesses told Sunday Vanguard that the fire, which started around 12:00 midnight  lasted till  12 noon, yesterday.

At the last count, over 4,000 shops that occupied half of the entire stretch of the market was reduced to ashes.

Efforts by the state Fire Service and a private company that mobilised men and resources to combat the fire early enough were unsuccessful.

Armed security deployed to the scene were equally overwhelmed as desperate individuals struggled to salvaged what remained of their shop in a chaotic situation.

A new generation bank situated within the market was said to have been affected by the fire.

Kano State Government through the Commissioner of Environment, Alhaji Ali Bukar Makoda, suspended  the monthly environmental   sanitation exercise  to enable firefighters from neighbouring states lend a helping hand to curtail the fire.

A victim, Ali Kofar Mata, told Sunday Vanguard: “We have lost   our life savings to the fire and I don’t know where we are going to start from”.