Property worth millions of naira have been destroyed in a fire outbreak at the popular Benue rice mill in Wurukum....READ ORIGINAL & FULL CONTENT FROM SOURCE | READ ORIGINAL & FULL CONTENT FROM SOURCE...
Eyewitnesses said the fire started in the early hours of Monday, March 17, at the rice mill located near the River Benue Bridge, Makurdi.
While several properties were lost during the incident, firefighters who arrived at the location were able to prevent the fire from spreading to other shops within the market.
Items such as milling machines, processed and unprocessed rice and other goods were completely destroyed in the fire.
One of the shop owners, Mercy Hanmaikyur, said she lost about N10 million in the fire.
According to Hanmaikyur, she had just opened her shop in December 2024 and was still struggling with making profits before the incident.
Listing some of the items she lost, Hanmaikyur said, “I had three machines—a de-stoning machine, a rice polishing machine—and many bags of processed and unprocessed rice. Everything was burnt.”
Confirming the incident, the chairman of the rice mill market, Terva Igyar said a few shops were completely burnt including a motorcycle, about six rice milling machines and several bags of rice.
Noting that he has contacted the state authorities including officials of Makurdi Local Government and other stakeholders, Igyar ruled out electricity as the cause of the fire outbreak.
According to him, the shops within the market are not connected to any form of power supply.
However, victims affected have also appealed to the governor of Benue State, Hyacinth Alia to come to their aid.
