Adelani Adepegba, Abuja
About 50 shops at the Kugbo Furniture Market, Abuja, have been razed by an overnight fire, which destroyed wares valued at millions of naira.
The blaze, which started around 12am on Saturday, was attributed to an electrical fault that reportedly ignited a fire, leading to the destruction of several shops.
PUNCH Metro gathered that furniture items, equipment, generators and other items were destroyed before firefighters and residents could extinguish the fire.
Some of the victims were seen on Monday counting their losses as they lamented the tragedy.
A furniture maker, Joseph John, explained that the traders returned to the market on Saturday to find the smouldering remains of their shops, adding that the fire consumed goods worth millions of naira.
He stated, “We returned to the market only to find that the place had been burnt down overnight. It was pathetic to see people’s livelihoods burnt down overnight.
“I was not affected directly, but I feel sad over the loss, because it affected my friends, neighbours and customers; so, I was affected indirectly.”
A victim, Austin Onuh, explained that the incident occurred after the shop owners had closed for the day.
Onuh, whose shop was destroyed by the fire, regretted his inability to salvage the goods in it.
He explained that the loss had not been estimated, but said it could not be less than N21m.
He stated, “We have yet to determine the cause of the inferno, but pieces of furniture worth over N21m have been burnt by the fire.
“Some of us just returned from our travels for the Christmas and New Year holidays and started working on some of the items that our customers placed orders for, only to come here and see everything burnt to ashes.”
He solicited the support of the Federal Capital Territory Administration, individuals and corporate organisations for the victims.
Another victim, Elvis Ngbor, said all the nine shops in his section were razed, including some makeshift stalls, adding that nothing could be salvaged.
He stated, “We were in the market till past 10pm on Friday, because we had a project to deliver, but the security guards called us around 11.30pm that the market was on fire. We could not come back because some of us live around Mararaba and Nyanya, and it was already late.
“We got to the market on Saturday to find out that our sources of livelihood had been destroyed by the fire. It was so sad that this is happening at the beginning of the year, when we are just struggling to make ends meet.”
Ngbor appealed for support from the government and Nigerians.
Copyright PUNCH.
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