Fire guts Kogi GSM village, destroys property worth millions of naira

Several millions of naira worth of goods and property were destroyed yesterday due to a fire outbreak at the GSM village near the Kpata market in Lokoja, the capital of Kogi State.

The fire, which started in the early hours due to a power surge, resulted in extensive damage, leaving many shop owners unable to salvage anything. One affected trader, Muhammed Yahaya, received a call at about 5:30 a.m. informing him of the fire. Upon arrival, he found that numerous shops had already been burnt down.

According to reports from people living in the area, the fire may have been caused by high voltage following a power restoration in the vicinity. The voltage surge affected the market and neighbouring houses, damaging fans, lights, and other electrical devices.

The fire destroyed goods such as laptops, phones, and accessories. Many traders had received their merchandise just that week. This incident came as a shock to everyone with a stake in the market.

Yahaya appealed to the Kogi State Government to intervene by assisting those who lost their goods financially and rebuilding the GSM village. Additionally, he stated that the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) should be interrogated.

“We know we have a governor that has listening ears. He is a father to us. As you can see, we are youths who are resourceful. Most of us are graduates, and we are not waiting for the government to provide jobs for us. We created the jobs on our own.”

“The property that we have been nurturing for over 15 years got burnt within hours. We want the government to look into it by assisting us financially and rebuilding the market. In this market, we have about 200 youths who are engaged in this kind of business. People were hungry before this happened,” he said.

The Financial Secretary of the Kogi Association of Phones and Accessories Dealers (KAPAD), Moses Felix, expressed how the incident deeply affected him physically, mentally, and emotionally.

He mentioned that he was moved to tears upon seeing his burnt shop, unable to salvage anything. As a laptop repair and sales business owner, the fire destroyed his entire stock, which had just arrived that week, leaving him to start from scratch.

With a family to support, he expressed concern about how he would provide for them amid the economic hardship and urged the government to come to their aid.
He also highlighted the impact on the employment of his staff, lamenting that the three boys working for him would now be left jobless.

Meanwhile, at the time of reporting, the state fire service officers were still working to extinguish the fire.