42 shops razed in Tafawa Balewa varsity fire

No fewer than 42 shops located at the Student Center, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, have been destroyed by fire.

The block D shops that were destroyed are located behind the female hostels at the Yelwa Campus of the institution.

The shops destroyed are computer business centers, barbing salon and provision stores.

The PUNCH reports that the fire which was said to have started at one of the shops on Wednesday was reportedly caused by an electrical fault.

Sources at the university said no fire service officer was available to help save the situation.

A source said the varsity’s Fire Service station situated close to the main gate of the institution could not salvage the situation as their truck was not in good shape.

“I learnt that when the fire started, they alerted the university fire service but they said that the battery of the truck is faulty. They said they’ve reported to the management for money to fix the faulty truck or for a new one to be bought, but nothing was done.

“They said they kept writing to the management to release money for the purchase of a new battery, but they allegedly said that there was no money.

“They also contacted the Federal Fire Service but they said that the tyres in their truck was bad,” he said.

A shop owner, Pastor Alfred Joseph, who owns a computer business center said nothing was salvaged from his shop.

“I am not in Bauchi, I traveled to Abuja and a friend called me this morning to inform me of the incident. He told me that everything in my shop was burnt down,” he said.

Another shop owner, Prince Hosea Mathias, said he got a call at about 4am on Wednesday from someone informing him that their shops were on fire.

Mathias added, “I run a computer business center and IT solution. I lost everything I have in my shop, computers, printers, furniture, generator, stationeries, POS machines and a lot of things.

“I honestly don’t know how I feel about this incident and in fact, I have not even started thinking about it yet. I’m just trying to be strong because I don’t have any other work anywhere, this is all I have which has been destroyed by this fire.”