No fewer than 1080 families were rendered homeless by the fire disaster in Malamawa Karangiya and Kwalele towns in the Kiyawa local government area of JIgawa state.
The victims have called on the federal, state and local governments to establish an internally Displaced People camp.
Visiting the area by our reporter one of the victims who gave his name as Malam Suleman Abdul’aziz said the fire started at around 11:40 am when most of them (men) were at their trades and businesses, while some were in the market.
Malam Suleman Abdelaziz added that “nobody knows the causes of the fire. It was started outside the town beside the road where no residents”.
According to him “all our farm products produced this year, domestic animals and materials had been lost to the fire. All our wives and children’s clothes are burnt by the fire.
“As you can see and most of us were left with the clothes in our bodies. Because the fire is mysterious it came at one time and spread like the wind. All the rooms of three to five houses will go to flame simultaneously. When our attention is on a particular side, we see the fire jump to other places. It was trouble, my brother”.
He added that “the fire was on for more than two hours before the firefighters from the fire service and Dutse International Airport from the capital city a distance of over 40 kilometres.
Meanwhile, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has delivered relief items approved to provide succour to the affected victims in the two towns.
Delivering the relief materials the Director General of NEMA, Alhaji Mustapha Habib Ahmed said the relief support was provided under instructions from President Muhammadu Buhari and the Honorable Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development Sadiya Umar Farouq.
Alhaji Mustapha Habib Ahmed told the communities that the Federal Government was concerned about their plights and conditions found themselves which is why relief material has been sent to relieve the hardship.
He explained that the items delivered were based on a preliminary assessment conducted by NEMA Kano Territory Office in collaboration with Jigawa State Emergency Management Agency.
He said, “I have inspected the destruction caused by the unfortunate inferno and was surprised by the burnt of the homes and livelihoods of the people in almost all of the community.”
The DG, therefore, assured that there may be further support in terms of building materials to enable them to rebuild their homes.
Ahmed maintained that the items delivered were meant to complement the initial response of relief intervention by the Jigawa State Government to the affected persons.
The president-elect, Chief Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinibu has sent a cash donation of now million to the victims of the fire disaster of Malamawa Karangiya and Kwalele in the Kiyawa local government area of JIgawa state.
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