Black Friday in Ibadan! Market fire destroys goods worth millions of Naira

It was a Black Friday for some traders at the Ogunpa Labaowo market in Agbokojo, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, Southwestern Nigeria, after a fire outbreak ravaged parts of the market.

The fire outbreak, which started early Friday, destroyed goods worth millions of naira.

The chairman of the Ogunpa Labaowo Plant Mechanic Association, Azeez Ibrahim, disclosed that the fire outbreak was caused by a surge in power supply to the area.

While appealing to the Oyo state government led by Engineer Seyi Makinde to come to their rescue, the Chairman said many concrete mixers and their engines had been destroyed by the inferno, leaving many traders in agony.

Mattresses, and equipment for automobile repairs, were among the multi-million naira goods gutted by the fire.

Nigeria has witnessed repeated market fire in many of its trading centres. Fires in the marketplace are largely caused by human error or carelessness. Some of the fires on record are the Singer Market fire in Kano, the Monday Market fire in Maiduguri, the Tejuosho Market fire in Yaba, Ajegunle Spare Parts Market in Lagos State, Onitsha Drug Market fire, all of which occurred within the space of just five months.