The Oyo State Fire Service has said the Monday morning fire at the Bodija Market in Ibadan was aided by several kegs of petrol stored in some of the shops.
Director of Operations Ismail Adeleke, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday, said the agency was still investigating the main cause of the incident.
According to him, one Ayo Akeredolu from Yemetu Police Station, Ibadan, called at 5.35am on Monday to inform the agency about the inferno.
He said: “We responded quickly with a 27,000-litre capacity truck with water to the market and started putting the fire under control. Another 10,000-litre capacity truck also joined in our operation to finally put out the fire.
“However, in the course of our operation, we discovered that grinding machines were in most of the shops with some kegs of petrol, which contributed to the spread of the inferno. But we thank God we were able to put out the fire before it spread to the fourth block.”
Adeleke added that further investigations will reveal the main cause of the inferno.
He, therefore, cautioned residents, especially traders, to desist from careless storage of inflammable substances, not minding the scarcity of petrol as currently being experienced in the state.
Three blocks, comprising 11 lock-up shops per block, situated at Ori-Igi Lane in the market, were affected by the fire. Property worth millions of naira was also estimated to have been razed.