In the early hours of Saturday, a fierce fire decimated 30 shops in the roadblock area of Jalingo, the capital of Taraba State. While the true cause remains unknown, shop owners point fingers at black marketers using cooking gas and accuse nearby welders of triggering the blaze.
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Despite the efforts of Good Samaritans and local youths to extinguish the flames, frustration mounted as the fire service reportedly arrived late. Infuriated, the youths chased away the firefighters, exacerbating the damage to properties.
Police intervention was necessary to disperse the angry crowd, paving the way for the belated return of the fire service to tackle the relentless fire. Shop owners, grappling with substantial financial losses, estimate the damage to be in the millions of naira.
