Traders at the Wurukum Rice Mill Market in Makurdi, Benue State, are seeking assistance after a fire broke out in the early hours of Monday, destroying goods worth millions of naira. The fire, which started before dawn, was eventually put out by the state fire service, preventing it from spreading further.
Several shops stocked with processed and unprocessed rice, as well as machines used for rice milling, were completely burned. One of the affected traders, Mrs. Mercy Hanmaikyur, expressed her distress over the loss, revealing that she had just opened her shop in December and had invested around N10 million in her business.
“I opened this shop last December having invested about N10m. I had three machines: de-stoning machine, rice polishing machine alongside several bags of processed and non-processed rice in the shop and all were burnt,” Mrs. Hanmaikyur said.
Another trader, Iorwa Jeremiah, shared his experience, explaining that he was alerted about the fire but arrived too late to save anything from his shop.
Jeremiah said, “I received a distress call in the wee hours of today and by the time I got here, I met other people who have shops here with the fire service men who later succeeded in putting out the fire but not after the damage had been done to my shop.”
The Chairman of the Wurukum Rice Mill Market, Terva Igyar, noted that a few shops were affected, along with a motorcycle, six milling machines, and several bags of rice. He mentioned that he had contacted officials from the Makurdi Local Government and other relevant stakeholders, who assured him that they would assess the situation before determining the total financial loss.
Traders in the market ruled out the possibility of an electrical fault as the cause of the fire, pointing out that their shops were not connected to any power supply.
Following the incident, the affected traders have turned to the Benue State Government for support. They are appealing to Governor Hyacinth Alia for assistance to help them recover from the losses.
“We appeal to the state government to assist us recover from the massive destruction we experienced in this incident,” one of the traders stated.
