Traders at the Kugbo Furniture Market in Abuja are counting losses running into hundreds of millions of naira after an early morning fire destroyed shops and furniture materials estimated at over ₦500 million.
Beyond the scale of the latest destruction, the fire has renewed concerns among traders over repeated outbreaks at the busy market and what they describe as inadequate measures to prevent them.
The blaze started before most traders arrived on Friday, sweeping through a section of the market occupied by dealers in foam, wood, boards and furniture accessories.
Chairman of the Kugbo Wood Machinist Association, Godswill Ndukwe, said the cause of the fire was yet to be established.
He said the affected traders lost goods worth about ₦500 million, adding that similar incidents had occurred in the market despite previous interventions by government officials.
“Officials will come and make promises, but nothing happens afterwards,” Ndukwe said, appealing to the Abuja Municipal Area Council and the Federal Capital Territory Administration to take concrete steps to prevent another disaster.
The latest incident has left some traders facing the prospect of rebuilding their businesses from scratch, with one trader, Okechukwu Chilke, reportedly unable to speak as he stood beside the remains of his shop.
Meanwhile, efforts to obtain comments from the FCT Fire Service and other relevant government agencies were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.