Fire Guts Makurdi Market, 200 Shops Burnt

A raging fire has consumed a section of the main market in Markurdi, Benue State with about 200 shops destroyed and goods worth millions of naira destroyed, officials said Tuesday night.

There were no immediate reports of casualties, but first responders were said to have been mobilised to the scene.

Terver Akase, Benue government spokesperson, said the fire only touched a section of the market along George Akume Road at about 6:30 p.m.

The market, containing row of lock-up shops, was built by former Governor Gabriel Suswam to unclog the Makurdi city centre and ensure easy trading.

The market served as a temporary shelter for victims of the devastating flood in 2017 and residents who fled their villages at the height of violence by herdsmen between late 2017 and early 2018.