Goods worth millions of naira destroyed as fire guts plank market in Oyo

The plank section of the Bodija market in Ibadan, Oyo state capital, has been razed by fire.

Shops and goods worth millions of naira were reportedly destroyed in the fire incident that occurred on Tuesday at about 5 pm.

In a video of the incident, Oyo state fire service men and shop owners were seen making efforts to put out the fire amid a downpour.

A witness attributed the incident to an electrical spark from one of the stalls.

“We battled endlessly to put out the fire but to no avail. We later sought the assistance of the state and federal services to put the situation under control,” he said.

“As I am talking to you now, men of the fire service are still moving around with water tankers.

“The losses are enormous.  We can’t quantify now.”

An officer of the state fire service who did not want to be named in the media said the source of the inferno was yet to be ascertained.

“We want to address the situation for now before talking about the magnanimity of the losses,” said.

In January, some shops in Araromi spare parts market in Agodi Gate in the state capital were gutted by fire.

The Oyo fire service had said the inferno was caused by indiscriminate refuse burning.