PHOTOS: Shops, wares destroyed as fire guts Ibadan market

The Aleshinloye market in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital, is currently on fire.

The inferno was said to have started around 9pm on Tuesday.

Kehinde Akanni, chairman of the Ibadan south-west LGA, said no casualties were recorded.

Akanni also said the cause of the inferno is yet to be ascertained.

“The government is going to come to their aid, is going to go back to the drawing board, with the cooperation of the people,” Akanni said.

“We can’t lay our finger on the cause or the number of shops affected right now. Security operatives are on the ground trying to figure out what happened. This will enable us to prepare for the future.”

However, a witness identified as Muideen Azeez told TheCable that the fire was caused by an electric spark in a shop where plastics are sold.

“The fire started in the shop and caught the goods that were offloaded off a trailer and spread to other shops,” Azeez said.

He said first responders tried to contain the inferno to no avail.

Witnesses said the fire would have been contained if the fire service centre in the market was functional.

“See fire centre here but no water, no trucks. Nothing is working. We don’t have government presence here, all they do is just to collect money and tax from us,” a witness lamented.

Police officers, operatives of Amotekun, and Red Cross officials are on the ground to maintain law and order.