About 15 shops located along Lagos Street opposite the Oba Market, Benin-City, Edo state were on Monday morning razed by fire.
Goods worth millions of naira were lost in the fire.
It was gathered that the building was renovated about four months ago.
The fire, it was gathered, started at about 12 midnight from one of the shops where they sell pure water, take away packs and other provisions as a result of high power voltage.
A source said the fire started from a fridge in one of the shops.
One of the victims, Mrs. Tawa Shittu said her two daughters in-law goods were burnt in the inferno.
“They called me in the midnight that there was fire here but I couldn’t come here till 5am this morning and we met everything burnt to ashes. We were told the fire started from the back of the building.
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“I have been selling here for a very long time but recently, they said they needed to renovate the place, I just came to re-open my shop about a month ago.”
Another trader, Risi said she could not salvage anything from her shop.
“We have a chemical seller whose warehouse is also here, there is a rubber shop, wheelbarrow shop and fairly used zincs then there is baby care shop worth millions of naira goods, two shops trade on cooked food, soft drinks, two deep freezers, and assorted drinks, all got burnt.
“The other shop has two deep freezers, one standing giant fridges, pepper soup spices, micro-wave, take-away packs and the money the owner just collected to take to the market including the yearly contribution which she just collected. She could not recover anything. The other one is baby shop running into millions of naira; nothing could be recovered including the generator.” [THE NATION]
