A fire outbreak in the early hours of Monday has destroyed property worth millions of naira at the popular rice mill market in Wurukum, Makurdi.
Firefighters arrived quickly and stopped the fire from spreading to other areas, but several shops were already affected. Many bags of rice, milling machines, and other goods were burnt.
One of the traders, Mercy Hanmaikyur, told the PUNCH she lost about ₦10 million in the fire.
“I opened this shop in December after investing about ₦10 million. I had three machines—a de-stoning machine, a rice polishing machine—and many bags of rice. Everything was burnt,” she said.
Another victim, Iorwa Jeremiah, said he was called in the early hours but arrived too late to save anything.
“I saw other shop owners and firefighters trying to put out the fire, but the damage had already been done,” he said.
The Chairman of the Wurukum rice mill market, Terva Igyar, confirmed that a few shops, six milling machines, and a motorcycle were burnt, along with several bags of rice.
He added that officials from Makurdi Local Government had been informed and would visit the market to assess the damage.
Traders ruled out electricity as the cause of the fire, saying their shops had no power connection.
The victims have called on Governor Hyacinth Alia to assist them in recovering from the loss.
