More than 100 shops and property worth over N250 million were early hours of Wednesday gutted by fire at the Otukpo main Market, Benue state.
The cause of the incident is yet to be ascertained. By sources said it started around 5am.
This is the second time this year that the market is been engulfed by fire.
Narrating the incident to Blueprint, supervisory councilor of the local government in charge of Finance and Revenue, Mr. Shedrack Abu, said it took the swift intervention of men of Fire Service Department to put off the fire, which lasted for several hours.
He said several building materials, electronics and plastic materials were destroyed by the fire.
Chairman of the local government, George Ali, who confirmed the incident said the major solution to the incessant fire incident, would be to restructure the market.
He said though the local government on its part has been trying to curtail the fire incident, it will need the support of the state and federal government to completely solve the problem.
A trader from the market Faith Baba told Blueprint that the fire may have been caused by electrical fault.
She expressed worry over the frequent fire outbreaks in the market, adding that the recent fire incident is happening when most traders have stocked goods preparatory for Christmas.
