Fire has ripped through the Mokwa Central Market in Niger State on Thursday, destroying goods, mostly food items worth millions of naira.
Four persons, especially traders who slept in their shops, were said to have sustained various degrees of injuries and were taken to Mokwa General Hospital for medical treatment after the inferno.
The Paramount Ruler of the town, the Ndalile-Mokwa, Mohammed Shaba confirmed the incident to Channels Television via a telephone conversation, saying that the fire, which started at about 4 am, had razed down more than half of the market.
“The fire started around 4 o’clock in the morning. They called me and I called the fire service. They have been trying to put off the fire but because of lack of tanks, as I am talking to you, the fire is still on,” he said.
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According to the traditional ruler, some hoodlums took advantage of the raging fire to steal goods but four of them had been apprehended.
“This is a rural market where foodstuffs are being sold in abundance. We are a bridge between the north and the south in terms of the supply of food. More than half of the market is gone,” the traditional ruler explained.
One of the traders simply identified as Etsu-Kpo Mokwa said marketers were counting their losses.
While describing the incident as devastating, he said: “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.”
