A fire outbreak in the early hours of Monday destroyed properties worth millions of naira at the Wurukum Rice Mill Market in Makurdi, near the River Benue bridge.
Firefighters arrived swiftly and prevented the fire from spreading to other parts of the market. However, several shops were affected, with goods such as processed and unprocessed rice, milling machines, and other equipment completely burnt.
One of the victims, Mercy Hanmaikyur, revealed that she had invested about N10 million in her shop, which she opened in December.
“I had three machines—a de-stoning machine, a rice polishing machine—and many bags of rice. Everything was burnt,” she lamented.
Another trader, Iorwa Jeremiah, also suffered significant losses. “I got a call in the early hours of today. By the time I arrived, firefighters were already trying to put out the flames, but the damage had been done,” he said.
The Chairman of the Wurukum Rice Mill Market, Terva Igyar, confirmed that the fire destroyed a few shops, a motorcycle, six milling machines, and several bags of rice.
Igyar stated that officials from Makurdi Local Government and other stakeholders had promised to visit the market to assess the damage before estimating the total loss.
Traders ruled out electricity as the cause of the fire, noting that their shops were not connected to any power supply.
Victims of the fire have appealed to Governor Hyacinth Alia for assistance to help them recover from their losses.
