Runsewe, traders trade blame over Abuja crafts village fire
The Director-General of National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), Otunba Segun Runsewe said the Friday fire incident at the Abuja Arts and Craft village was caused by a cooking device which was not turned off after closing hours. In a press conference on Tuesday, Runsewe also denied allegations that the council had a […]
The Director-General of National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), Otunba Segun Runsewe said the Friday fire incident at the Abuja Arts and Craft village was caused by a cooking device which was not turned off after closing hours.
In a press conference on Tuesday, Runsewe also denied allegations that the council had a hand in the fire outbreak, saying the site belonged to “NCAC and engaging in such unwholesome action is not only crude and uncivilized, it also amounts to cutting the nose to spite the face.”
He said outcome from investigations by the police shows that the device was not put off by the shop owner at the close of working hours of Friday.
But one of the traders, Muhammad Iliya, disputed Runsewe’s claim saying that at the time of the fire incident, there was no electricity in the area.
“The DG said the fire started in Shop No 47. That is not true. The fire began in Shop 41, which has no power connection at all. Again, the photo he distributed to journalists was not taken from the scene of the fire incident. It was a photoshop. We have taken pictures of the fire scene and we want anybody to come to the market and verify it,” he said.
The trader said they the DG is punishing them because of the lingering court case between the NCAC and a private developer in the market, UmmaKhalif.
“Whenever there was a development in the court in favour of the other party, the DG will create an incident in the market,” Iliya said.
“For instance, the fire occurred last Friday after the Federal High Court, Abuja ordered that the developers should meet with the police over the security of the market and that our gates which Runsewe locked be opened.
“On July 6, the same day the court ordered that the gates be opened, the DG sent some officials to mark our buildings for demolition. On July 26, when the court served the DG with Form 46 – advice on contempt of court, he sent a presidential task force who demolished some structures in the market,” the trader said.
Iliya said it was based on these antecedents that the traders suspected a foul play in the fire incident. “The DG locked our gates, he was doing everything to throw us out of the place by all means,” he said.
Runsewe said it was out of his personal concern for the lives of those doing business at the site that he took the decision to stop people from sleeping on the premises.
“But for the proactive decision, this fire incident could have resulted in serious casualties,” he said.