Traders count lost after fire razed plaza in Lagos. Patience Ogbo Traders of the six storey building affected by an evening inferno at at Breadfriut street Lagos Island on Saturday,have started counting their loses. The traders said they lost goods estimated at over N1.2 billion in the incident. Mr. Greg Azubuogu, the Chairman of the Plaza, also said that the plaza , housed a branch of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, warehouses, shops and offices. Azubuogu, who owns a shop in the plaza, alleged that a power surge from the electrical wires in the building caused the fire . “I think that it is an electrical spark that caused the fire because Saturday was a weekend and a holiday. “We take preventive measures whenever we were closing for the day at the plaza. We normally switched off the control switch, but the fire started from the warehouse on the fourth floor. It is like the cartons in the warehouse aided the spark, as well as the spread of the fire,” he said. Azubuogu who sells shoes and bags in the plaza stateD that the fire was noticed at about 4 p.m.and lasted till about 8pm after fire fighters put it off. " I lost about N15 million in the incident. I and other traders are appealing to the Lagos State Government to come to our aid as this lost is too much". It was gathered that despiite the traders' lost hoodlums in the area were busy snatching goods from the wreackages but policemen from the Lion Building police station and officials of other security agencies tried desperately to prevent hoodlums from looting some wares salvaged from the plaza. Meantime, the St Paul’s Catholic Church on Breadfruit Street situated directly behind the affected building could not hold their usual Sunday Mass as the area was cordoned off while the worshippers were turned backed by the security personnel. Some of the security officers who spoke stated that Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola has ordered that the building be cordoned off, " we appealed to the traders to stay off the building for a while in order to enable the emergency authorities carry out proper investigation and also determine the structural integrity of the property. " NAN