Fire Guts Popular Kwara Market, Destroys 7 Shops

A fire outbreak on Friday night destroyed shops and property worth millions of naira at Olusola Saraki Market, Ita-Amo in Ilorin, Kwara State capital.

LEADERSHIP gathered that the night fire outbreak was caused by power surge.

Sources said the fire that ravaged seven shops containing wares such as clothing materials, meat and provisions, started about 9pm.

Spokesman of Kwara State Fire Service, Hassan Adekunle, confirmed the incident in a statement issued on Saturday.

Adekunle said the swift intervention of the firefighters saved 269 shops, limiting the devastating damages to only seven shops.

He said, “On Friday, 10 January 2025, at about 21:36 hours, the Kwara State Fire Service received a distress call reporting a fire outbreak at Olusola Saraki Market, Ita-Amo, Ilorin.

“Our firefighters promptly deployed to the scene and discovered multiple shops ablaze in a market comprising 276 shops. Through swift intervention,our team successfully contained the inferno, limiting the damage to only seven shops and saving 269 others.

“The affected shops included meat vendors, clothing material shops, and provision stores.

“Preliminary investigations revealed that the incident might have been caused by a power surge following the fluctuating power supply from the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), as reported by the market’s security personnel.”