There was pandemonium at the popular Dumez market, in the Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area of Edo State, when fire razed a major section of the market and destroyed property allegedly worth millions of naira in the wee hours of Monday.
The fire, which started at about 1am on Monday, razed over 150 shops, sparing only a small section of the market. However, the officials of the state fire service who visited the scene three times, left when they reportedly ran out of water.
It was gathered that at about 8.30am, Tuesday, some of the traders were still seen trying to recover some of their goods, while others who lost everything, counted their losses in tears.
Students from the School of Health Technology, most of whom patronised traders from the market, also thronged the scene to sympathise with the victims.
Some wondered why the inferno lasted for hours when the market was beside a police station; but the Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Osifo Abiodun, said the command contacted the fire service when it received a distress call about the incident.
One of the victims, Mavis Odeh, who narrated the incident, said the most affected part of the market was where cash crops, textiles and other items were sold.
“On Monday morning, around 1am, someone called my mother and told her that the market was on fire. When she got to the place, we had to carry her home because of the shock. I feel very bad, especially because the year is coming to an end.
“It is very painful because my mother, who sells provisions, lost her goods to the fire.
“About four or three days ago, we spent close N250, 000 to buy some items before Christmas; the value of what we lost is between N700, 000 and N800, 000,” Odeh lamented.
One Mama Osayande, who described the inferno as a tale of double tragedy for her, was said to have lost three stores and goods worth millions of naira, three weeks after she lost a child.
A beverage seller, who identified herself as Mrs. Oserheinmen, said that she had six stores filled with crates of drinks, and three deep freezers, all of which were consumed by the fire.
She said, “My three deep freezers and six stores were affected by the fire. You know what that means,” she lamented.
The leader of the market women, Mrs. Rose Isibor, said over 150 shops were affected by the inferno, with goods worth over N200m destroyed.
Isibor, confirming the incident, divulged that the council authorities had been informed of the disaster; however, she noted that a power surge was suspected to be the cause of the fire.
“Around 1am, I got a call that the market was on fire. So, I called the security guards, who said that they had informed the police. The firemen came without water; when they returned, the damage had already been done.”
Isibor alleged that the goods destroyed would be over N300m because the fire affected the section of the market where the most valuable items were sold.
For more scintillating and juicy stories, follow the official Naijapals accounts On Twitter - https://twitter.com/Naijapals and Facebook - www.facebook.com/naijapals
| Posted: at | |
gogoman
Novic
Wikigenius
zezprincess
winace
Ayodun1
sugarwealth
bennieben
okatee
TRENDING GISTS 
How Yahaya Bello Moved $720k From Govt Account to a BDC - EFCC Boss, Olukoyede Narrates (VID)
Family of Late Sound Engineer Have Refused to Exhume His Body From Riverside Despite Donations
Ondo Police Arrests Man Who Said He Saw Fetish Items in Car of 'Yahoo Boy' That Led to His Lynching by Mob
30 Year Old Man, Jeffery Caught Defiling His Landlady's 13 Year Old Daughter In Rivers