No fewer than several shops were gutted by fire in the early hours of Monday at Oranya Market in Ibadan North-East Local Government Area of Oyo State.
The fire reportedly broke out around midnight, leaving traders who deal in gold, furniture, second-hand clothing and other goods counting their losses.
A trader, Iya Alia, said, “The fire started around midnight. I cannot be specific about that time. And those affected were gold sellers, furniture sellers, second-hand clothes sellers and many others. The shops affected were almost 300.”
Another witness described the scale of the destruction as massive, saying, “This is devastating. This is huge. I don’t even know how to explain it. Close to 300 shops were destroyed.”
The state’s Special Adviser on Fire Reforms and Chairman of Fire Services, Morof Akinwande, confirmed the outbreak but said the exact number of affected shops had yet to be established.
He said the fire reportedly began after an explosion within the market, adding that firefighters had brought the situation under control around 1am.
He said, “Whether it’s a gas explosion or other things. And when you have a gas explosion, it would spread, but as I am talking to you, the situation has been under control since 1 am.
“On the number of shops and inventory, that is too early because that’s post-fire outbreak investigation. So, I cannot be accurate about the number of shops that were destroyed. But shops were actually gone.”
The market had previously suffered a major fire in 2024, when more than 200 shops in its herbal section were reportedly destroyed.
The latest incident also comes two days after fire destroyed nine locked-up shops at the Nigerian Railway shopping complex along Aleshinloye Market in Ibadan.