Properties worth millions of naira were destroyed by a fire that gutted the popular rice mill market at Wurukum in Makurdi in the early hours of Monday.
Although men of the state fire service were reported to have responded to a distress call and succeeded in preventing the fire from spreading to other nearby shops, significant damage was already done.
Shops filled with processed and unprocessed rice, as well as items such as processing machines, were completely burnt.
Mrs Mercy Hanmaikyur, who claimed to have lost about ₦10 million to the fire, stated that she had only opened the shop last December.
According to her, “This shop was opened last December, and I have invested about ₦10 million. I had three machines – a de-stoning machine, a rice polishing machine – alongside several bags of processed and unprocessed rice in the shop, but they were all burnt.”
Explaining how he received the news of the fire incident that destroyed his shop, Iorwa Jeremiah said he received a distress call and rushed down to the market despite the early hour.
“I received a distress call in the early hours of today, and by the time I got here, I met other shop owners along with fire service personnel who eventually succeeded in putting out the fire, but not before damage had already been done to my shop.”
Speaking on the incident, the Chairman of the Wurukum rice mill market, Terva Igyar, confirmed that a few shops were burnt, including a motorcycle, about six milling machines, bags of rice, and other items.
Igyar noted that he was in touch with officials of Makurdi Local Government and other stakeholders, who had promised to visit the site and assess the situation before he could provide an estimate of the total amount lost to the inferno.
The traders ruled out electricity as a possible cause of the fire, stating that their shops were not connected to an electricity supply.
The victims appealed to the state governor, Hyacinth Alia, and other well-meaning individuals for assistance.
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