Goods worth billions of Naira were destroyed in a fire outbreak that engulfed the Next Cash and Carry Supermarket building in the Jahi area of Abuja.

An eyewitness and one of the cashiers of the supermarket, Ogochukwu Aniekwe, told TheNation that the goods destroyed by the inferno were worth billions of Naira.

She also disclosed that the fire started from an electric spark from a Christmas flower around 8:00 in the morning that later spread to other places.

Other eyewitnesses said when the fire started, there was no fire service around for almost an hour as the fire service facilities in the shopping mall developed a fault.

However, the Coordinator, Abuja Municipal Management Council (AMMC), Umar Shuaibu said the fire incident was reported to the appropriate authority late, hence the escalation of the damage.

Meanwhile, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command confirmed the arrest of three people over an alleged attempt to steal during the fire incident.

The suspects are Ali Audu aged 18 Years; Yahaya Yunusa, 20 and Sahabi Abubakar, 20.