Traders Count Losses As Fire Guts Lagos Market

About 100 shops containing goods worth millions of Naira have been destroyed in a fire outbreak that occurred at the popular Bodija Market in Ibadan, Oyo State.

Some of the affected traders in the aftermath of the inferno revealed that huge losses were incurred, lamenting that they have lost over N5 million to the inferno.

The fire which started in the early hours of Monday, affected some shops in the market, while goods worth millions of naira were destroyed.

When contacted, the director of operations, Oyo State Fire Service, Ismail Adeleke, confirmed that Oyo State Fire Service has promptly intervened to minimise the impact of the outbreak.

He said: “We received a call at about 5:35a.m.  We immediately moved in and put out the fire. There was no loss of life and nobody was injured in the incident. We didn’t receive any call from the people in the market, it was a policeman in the Yemetu area of the city that called and we responded swiftly.”

Adeleke advised residents to always put safety measures in place to prevent fire outbreaks and to always call fire service immediately if there is an outbreak.

Also confirming the incident, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) South West in a statement said over 100 shops were destroyed during Monday’s fire incident at Bodija market in Ibadan.

The agency also revealed that no fewer than 350 traders in the market were also affected.

It also disclosed that foodstuffs and other valuable items worth millions of naira were completely destroyed.