Next Cash and Carry, one of the popular shopping malls in Abuja has been gutted by fire.
It was gathered that the mall which is situated in the Jahi Area of the Federal Capital Territory went up in flames around 10:00 am Sunday morning.
Thick smoke can be seen around the mall as emergency operatives tried to salvage the situation.
The cause of the fire is unknown at the time of this report.
The roads have however been closed and the fire service are still trying to contain the fire which has destroyed the entire building including the roof.
“The whole of Next Cash and Carry is on fire. We have the FCT and Federal Fire Services on the ground. We are calling on all mutual aid fire services to deploy to Next Cash and Carry. The mutual aid fire services are Julius Berger, CBN, and then the Armed Forces.
“We are calling on the Armed Forces, the Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Air Force, and the Army to provide support as they usually do,” said The Head of Search and Rescue National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Abuja, Labuan Ahman.
Meanwhile, the Federal Fire Service has advised residents to avoid the areas as firefighters are battling to put out the fire and prevent its spread.
“The Service has turned out firefighters to the scene, who are currently fighting the fire,” Mrs Ugo Huan, Public Relations Officer, FFS, said.
Huan told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that because of the festive season, it was expected that residents might visit the store, hence the warning to avoid the area.
“Members of the public are to take note and avoid that route,” she said.
Huan said firefighters from over three different zones, including the FCT fire service, were at the scene fighting the fire.
The PRO said the cause of fire was not known yet as further investigation would be done to ascertain the likely cause of fire
A witness at the scene, Mrs Sandra Emeka, said she was at the gate of the supermarket trying to gain entrance to the compound when she noticed dark smoke coming out of the store.
“I don’t know where the fire started from or what caused it but I just noticed the smoke and heard people around telling us to move back that there was fire,” she said.
Another customer, Mr Philip Paul, expressed sadness over the incident as he described the supermarket as a “big shopping centre.”
“It is so unfortunate this happened at this time when the store must have been stocked up for the festive season.
“This is a great loss and I sympathise with the management of this supermarket,” he said.
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