A fire which started in the early hours of Saturday razed Timber market at Wetheral Road in Owerri, Imo State.
POLITICS NIGERIA learned that the incident which started around 1:00am cdestroyed a lot of goods.
One of the shop owners said: “I lost my two machines and other things. We didn’t take out a single pin from the shops. Everything lost. The loss is unbearable.
“It is a black Christmas for us. We don’t know where to go from here. Nobody knows the cause of the outbreak. We lost over a billion here.”
Another victim said: “The annoying thing is that people offloaded goods worth several millions last night and went home only to be called hours later that the market was on fire.
“This is unbearable. I suspect foul play. The government should probe this incident.
“A customer came here and bought woods worth N7.5 million. He said he was coming this morning to carry it. I don’t even know what he will do now. Will he seek for a refund? If he does that, where will the shop owner get it from?”