28 Shops, Other Property Razed In Kwara Market Fire

A midnight fire outbreak on Wednesday ravaged 28 shops at the popular Kara Market in Ajase-Ipo, Irepodun local government area of Kwara State.

LEADERSHIP gathered that goods worth millions of naira were destroyed by the fire incident which occurred at about 1:35am on Wednesday.

Spokesperson of the Kwara State Fire Service, Hassan Adekunle, confirmed the incident in a statement on Wednesday.

Adekunle attributed the cause of the fire outbreak to the negligence of a shop owner who failed to properly extinguish fire used for cooking.

“The Kwara State Fire Service responded to a fire outbreak at Kara Market, Ajase-Ipo, Irepodun local government area, in the early hours of Wednesday, 20th August 2025, at exactly 01:35hrs.

“On arrival at the scene, firefighters discovered that out of a total of 323 shops in the market, comprising 22 plank shops and 7 kiosks among others, the fire affected 22 plank shops and 6 container shops.

“Preliminary investigation revealed that the incident was caused by negligence, as one of the occupants of the plank shops failed to properly extinguish fire used for cooking. The fire later reignited, spreading rapidly to nearby shops,” he said.

Adekunle added that the timely intervention of the Kwara State Fire Service helped prevent further escalation and safeguarded hundreds of other shops and properties from destruction.