Multimillion naira goods destroyed as fire guts Niger market

Goods, mostly food items worth millions of naira have been reportedly destroyed by fire in Mokwa Central Market, the Headquarters of Mokwa Local Government Area of Niger State.

Daily Trust correspondent gathered that no fewer than four persons especially the traders who slept in their shops sustained various degrees of injuries and were taken to Mokwa General Hospital for medical attention.

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The Paramount Ruler of the town, the Ndalile-Mokwa, Alhaji Mohammed Shaba told Daily Trust that the fire which started at about 4 am had razed down more than half of the market.

“The fire started around 4 a.m. As they called me about the incident, I immediately called the fire service. They tried to put off the fire but due to lack of tanks, it was not an easy task,” he said.

He said some hoodlums also took advantage of the raging fire to steal goods but four of them had been apprehended.

He said “This is a rural market where foodstuffs are being sold in abundance. And we are a bridge between the north and the south in terms of supplying foodstuff. More than half of the market has been burnt.”

One of the traders simply identified as Etsu-Kpo Mokwa said markers were counting their losses, describing the incident as devastating.

“It will take many traders years to recover from this disaster. We are still counting the losses. Fire service officials are still doing their best to put off the fire,” he said.