Fire Razes 600 Shops In Benue Market, Billions Lost

Goods and household items valued at over N1billion were at the early hours of yesterday, consumed in a fire outbreak at the popular Wadata Market in Makurdi town.

Affected, were over 600 lockup shops and open stalls housing grains, poultry and fish products, beverages and other household items including clothings.

One Emmanuel, a Muslim cleric who usually calls for prayer at the Wadata mosque, every morning, was praying when he saw smoke billowing from one of the shops, at about 2am. He was said to have raised the alarm but no one came out to contain the situation, until it spread to other shops.


Residents said it took two hours before fire service officials, whose office is located not too far from the market, to arrive the scene.

One of the shop owners, a woman with an undisclosed identity, reportedly fainted on sighting the charred remains of what used to be her family’s only means of survival. She was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital, where she was revived.

Some traders were sighted trying to salvage what was left of their goods from the inferno, while others wept uncontrollably.