By Isaac Kertyo, Makurdi
An 80 Year old Woman has been reportedly burnt to death and properties worth millions of naira destroyed as fire gutted over fifty houses in Tse Gyaruwa, Tsambee, Mbesev Council Ward, Gwer West Local Government Area of Benue State.
The Village Head of the community, Chief Ayatse Agubor, while briefing Journalists on the incident, explained that the inferno ensued at 10am when members of the community were in the farms.
Chief Agubor, warned the youths in the area to desist from unauthorized bush burning, stressing that henceforth anyone caught in the act would face the full wrath of the law to serve as a deterrent to others.
A business Woman, Hajjia Kongo, who lost ten bags of maize, soya beans and one hundred thousand naira, lamented the level of destruction the fire incident caused her. She called for assistance from government and well-meaning individuals to come to her aid.
Reacting to the incident, the Caretaker Chairman, Gwer West Local Government Council, Mr Henry Agba, stated that unauthorized bush burning will no longer be tolerated in the local government.
According to the Chairman, Council would immediately constitutes a committee that would assess the extent of the destruction to enable it forward the committee’s report to the State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, for necessary action.
