There was pandemonium Friday as one of Abuja's leading shopping mall, Grand Square, located at the Central Business District, was razed by fire.
The fire, according to eyewitnesses, began precisely at about 12 midnight.
An eye witness, who owns a kiosk opposite the departmental store, told The Nation that the fire began at about 12 midnight, but was not put out until about 11am on Friday morning.
Fire fighters were able to prevent the fire from engulfing the entire mall.
As at press time, the actual cause of the fire and extent of damage was not ascertained as security men prevented Journalists entrance into the premises.
"We have been instruction not to let anyone inside," one of the security men said.
Confirming the incident however, one of the security men on duty said it was however not his brief to disclose the details of the inferno and the extent of damage to journalists.
His words: "Sorry some journalists have been coming since morning but the owner of the place told us not to talk to you people (journalists), but that he will personally address the press eventually."
Until at about 5pm, when our correspondent revisited the scene, rescue work was still ongoing.
Every attempt to get the management of the shopping mall to speak was futile as nobody was willing to talk.
According to findings, property worth millions of naira was destroyed by the fire and it was learnt that the electronic section was badly affected.
