THE Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police spokesperson, Josephine Adeh, has confirmed a fire incident occurred at the Jabi Lake Mall, Abuja, in the early hours of Thursday, October 30.
According to Punch, Adeh said police officers were deployed to the location to secure the area and prevent looting.
“We received a distress call at about 3:40 a.m. We immediately deployed our men there to secure the place and prevent any breach of public order,” she said.
Reports indicated that the fire affected only the Adidas Sports shop, though the cause of the outbreak had yet to be determined as of press time.
It was also gathered that firefighters from the Federal Fire Service, the Berger Fire Department, and the FCT Fire Service were deployed to the scene.
The incident adds to a chain of fire disasters in the FCT in recent years.
The ICIR reported in 2022 that many traders in the popular Karmo market in Abuja counted their losses after fire razed their shops.
The fire, which started around 12:00 am and lasted for over two hours, burnt down several shops and destroyed goods before it was put out by operatives of the FCT Fire Service..
Shops and goods were also destroyed during the 2021 fire outbreak at the Nyanya Market in the night and the cause of the fire could not be ascertained.
Similarly, on December, 26, 2021, The ICIR reported how the Next Cash and Carry Mall, in the nation’s capital went up in flames.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.