Masaka Market traders have been shrouded in pains after counting their losses in billions, accusing the Nasarawa State Government of complicity.
While some people suspected those cooking in the market, others concluded that it came from the meat section, up until press time, the source of the fire is yet to be confirmed.
Meanwhile, most traders are pointing fingers at the Nasarawa State Government for the cause of the fire because the government had made several attempts to take the market over.
A cross section of the traders alleged that the Umaru Tanko Al-Makura Administration attempted to take over the market but the traders resisted him legally and traditionally.
Reports also indicate that apart from N15,000 contribution by each trader in the market, Gbagi women protested naked and walked round the market, swearing that the market was their ancestral market and no government was permitted to take it away or relocate it.
A market trader who pleaded anonymity told newsmen that the whole traders in the market contributed N15,000 each for the case. According to the trader, the matter, is still in court.
“We contributed N15,000 each for the case. They even attempted to take it over in 2017 through fire but the inferno was not as devastating as this one. Now, they have found a good reason to perfect their plans” a trader decried.
Another trader lamented that what was stolen was far more than was the fire consumed.
“As I was retrieving my goods and keeping them in one side, other people were carrying them away You will see them carrying your things but you cannot pursue them because if you do, others will take what you have already gathered” he said
One of the market traders lamented that she lost goods worth over N20 million in her store together with a cash of N5 million.
However, while some people were in agony, scavengers were busy making brisk businesses, picking metals and selling them to buyers even at the spot of disaster.
It will be recalled that the market has been an object of legal tussle between the government and the traders on one hand and between the government and Gbagi indigenes on the other hand.
Whereas the traders refused to relocate to International Market where the government spent billions to construct stalls, the indigenes claimed that the market is their ancestral market.
