Maria Ochefu, the woman behind the establishment of Mammy Market in military barracks across Nigeria, has died at the age of 86.
Her son, Professor Yakubu Ochefu, confirmed her passing in a phone conversation, stating that she died peacefully in her sleep on Tuesday in Makurdi, Benue State.
“She had been a patient at the Benue State University Teaching Hospital, Makurdi, and she would have been 87 in April this year,” he said.
Maria Ochefu was married to Colonel Anthony Ochefu, a former military governor of Enugu State.
According to The PUNCH, in her last interview she recounted how she founded Mammy Market, which became a well-known marketplace in military barracks nationwide.
She also mentioned that two former Heads of State, General Yakubu Gowon (retd.) and former President Muhammadu Buhari, were among her customers.
