By Adeyinka Adeniran
Multi million Naira worth of goods and property were destroyed on Monday when fire razed a popular market, Oja Agbe in Moniya, Akinyele local government area of Ibadan, the Oyo state capital city.
The incident, it was gathered, started around 12 midnight and engulfed about 17 shops, containers and adjoining buildings.
The source of then inferno was traced to plugging of electrical appliances unattended to.
There were different accounts of the incident but witnesses said items worth millions of naira were stored in the affected shops.
In his account of the incident, the Babaloja of Moniya Garage, Mr Kolawole Balogun said he was alerted of the incident around 12:30AM which made him swiftly ran to the market to see things for himself.
Balogun said, “I moved to the scene of the incident immediately I received phone call. I can confirm to you that goods and property worth millions have been lost to the incident.
In his own account, the Chairman of the Garage, Mr Saliu Bello said, “apart from goods, cash worth millions of naira were also destroyed. You know some market men and women, sometimes, kept their money in the shops while going home.”
Some of the victims, Yetunde Musa, Ajetunmobi Idowu, Olaide Badmus, Balogun Sulaimon, and Ajetunmobi Kolawole in their various remarks appealed to the government to come to their aid.
Confirming the development, the General Manager, Oyo State Fire Services, Akinyemi Akinyinka said the fire incident was reported to the Agency at exactly 00:27hrs.
He said, “The fire incident was reported to the Agency at exactly 00:27hrs and Mr Adelola that their shops are on fire at Moniya Garage, Oja Agbe, Ibadan.
“Immediately, the personnel of this Agency led by ACFS Oyedeji was deployed to the scene of the incident. On getting to the addressed above, it was discovered to be rows of shops and container shops we met were alight.
“We quickly swift in to action and we were able to curtail the fire from where we met it and restricted it from spreading to all nearby shops and other properties.
“Properties worth millions of naira was destroyed and billions of properties were saved by the Agency personnel. No live was loss.
“However, I want to advise our people in Oyo State that they should handle fire with care in order to avoid fire incidents.
“The remote cause of the fire incident was traced to plugging of electrical appliances unattended to.”
