By Joy Salami
An early morning fire has destroyed property worth millions of naira at the popular GSM Village near Kpata Market in Lokoja.
The fire reportedly caused by a power surge, left shop owners unable to salvage any of their goods.
The incident, which started in the early hours of Thursday morning, quickly escalated, consuming several shops.
One of the affected traders, Muhammed Yahaya, while recounting his ordeal, stated that “I received a call around 5:30 am, informing me that the market was on fire. By the time I arrived, many shops had already been reduced to ashes”.
He further explained that residents in nearby houses reported electrical appliances being damaged due to the power upsurge, which might have been the cause of the fire.
Yahaya noted that millions of naira worth of goods, including phones, laptops, and accessories, were lost.
He appealed to Kogi State Government to provide financial assistance to the affected traders as well as help in rebuilding the GSM Village.
“We know we have a governor with a listening ear. We are resourceful youths, most of us are graduates, and we have created jobs for ourselves. The properties we nurtured for over 15 years were lost in under an hour.”
On his part, Moses Felix, the Financial Secretary of the Kogi Association of Phones and Accessories Dealers (KAPAD), said “I was crying this morning when my shop got burnt. All my goods, that arrived this week, were destroyed. I am starting from the scratch,”
According to Felix he supports a family and employs three workers who are now jobless due to the fire. He urged the government to intervene, noting that many traders in the market rely on their businesses to survive.
At the time of this report, efforts by fire service officials to extinguish the blaze was still ongoing.
