Fire has razed 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 taken to Mokwa General Hospital for medical treatment after the inferno.
Eye witness account said the fire, which started at about 4 am,razed down more than half of the market.
Also the traditional ruler of the town, the Ndalile-Mokwa, Mohammed Shaba “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.
According to him, 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.
