Senate urges probe of Singer Market fire

The Senate has asked its Committee on Interior to investigate both the immediate and underlying causes of the recent fire outbreak at Singer Market in Kano State, which destroyed shops and goods worth billions of naira.

This followed the adoption of a motion moved during plenary on Tuesday by the Deputy Senate President, Barau I. Jibrin, and co-sponsored by Senators Kawu Samaila and Rufai Hangar.

The committee is expected to submit its findings within four weeks.

The red chamber urged the management of the market to embark on a comprehensive redesign of its layout and structures to reduce vulnerability to future fire incidents.

The Senate, while commending President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for approving a N5 billion donation to support the victims, as well as the Progressive Governors’ Forum for its N3 billion contribution, called on the Federal Government, through the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), to urgently assess the scale of destruction and provide relief to affected traders.

It also tasked NEMA with conducting search and rescue operations to locate seven traders who were reportedly missing after the incident. The Senate urged the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development to develop a soft loan scheme to enable victims rebuild their businesses.

It also mandated the fire service to carry out a nationwide audit of safety compliance in major markets across the country.

Leading the debate, Senator Jibrin disclosed that the inferno resulted in losses exceeding N100 billion, affecting over 1,000 businesses, largely small and medium-scale enterprises. He expressed concern that seven individuals were still unaccounted for.

The Deputy Senate President further noted that preliminary reports indicated that the market, which plays a vital role in regional commerce, suffered extensive damage partly due to delayed emergency response. He added that “many of the traders do not have insurance coverage, thereby compounding their problem.”

Contributing to the debate, Senator Aliyu Wadada stressed the need for the Senate to move beyond sympathy and identify the root causes of the incident to prevent a recurrence.

He queried, “What is the root of all this? Where is it coming from? Because this particular market was ablaze 2–3 weeks before now, so we need to know what is the matter. We need to get to the root of this otherwise, God forbid, it will be an experience we will continue to experience.”

In his remarks, Senate President Godswill Akpabio appealed to “well-meaning Nigerians to assist the victims to get back on their feet.”

“We pray also that the next design of the market will also help us to avert this kind of issue happening again in the future,” he said.

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