FIRE GUTS 9 SHOPS IN IBADAN, TRADER COUNTS ₦21M LOSS
Nine shops were razed by an early-morning fire at the Nigerian Railway shopping complex, Aleshinloye Market, Ibadan, Oyo State on Saturday.
The inferno started at about 5:00am and had engulfed the locked shops before emergency responders arrived.
An affected trader, Busari Olayemi, who runs an interior decoration business, said he lost goods and equipment worth about ₦21 million.
He said the fire destroyed window blinds, curtain fabrics, industrial sewing machines, tools and customers’ materials stored in his shop.
The Oyo State Fire Services Agency said it received a distress call at 5:58am and immediately deployed firefighters to the scene.
The agency’s Chairman, Moroof Akinwande, said the crew met nine shops on fire with thick smoke. A second fire truck with 10,000 litres of water was later deployed as backup.
After a coordinated operation, the blaze was contained and prevented from spreading to adjoining shops.
No casualty was recorded.
Akinwande said preliminary findings suggested an electrical surge may have ignited combustible materials in the affected shops.
The incident has again raised concerns about fire safety in Ibadan markets, coming after similar outbreaks that left traders with huge losses in recent years.
For the victims, the immediate challenge is how to rebuild businesses wiped out before the start of a new trading week.
