Victims of the Deidei market inferno in Abuja, the nation’s capital, have taken inventory of properties destroyed during a recent riot that affected the market.
The Vice-Chairman of Dei-Dei Timber Market, Ifeanyi Chigbata, made this disclosure in an interview with THE WHISTLER on Tuesday.
The Dei-Dei timber market along the Kubwa-Zuba expressway was set ablaze on Wednesday 18 May 2022, after a gas tanker collided with two commercial motorcyclists (Okada), which led to the death of a woman.
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This website reported that the crisis had resulted in the destruction of properties amidst clashes that left many injured.
Chigbata said that the stock-taking is to enable the market union make a presentation for compensation to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Muhammad Musa Bello.
He however said the union was yet to secure an appointment with the FCT Minister.
He said, “We are yet to meet with the FCT Minister, the market is still shut down, but the market leaders are still holding meetings.
“We are compiling the losses to submit to Abuja Market Management Limited(AMML); some have submitted, and we will be able to give the total amount lost after everyone has submitted.
“We started compiling last week Friday, although some people are yet to submit. The incident escalated to other places in the market, people’s properties, cars, and shops were destroyed.”
On what the AMML said, Chigbata said, “For now nothing, we have been meeting with them to secure an appointment with the FCT Minister.
‘The FCT Administration has not come up with anything, but a monitoring team from FCT came this afternoon to assess the damage.”
Recall that traders at the Dei-Dei Timber Market whose shops were destroyed during a riot on Wednesday spoke to THE WHISTLER about the losses they incurred and the trauma they’re going through.