Skip to main content

Fire guts Ibadan market, consumes property worth N10m

Ibadan market

An early morning fire outbreak on Sunday razed some parts of Araromi Market at Agodi Gate, Ibadan, where used tyres and motor parts worth over N10 million were destroyed.

Mr Abdul Azeez Ojo, Chairman of the market, said that the inferno began at about 5.30 a.m.

According to him, the Fire Service was alerted and they responded promptly.

Ojo, however, said a sizeable number of shops equipped with tyres and other goods were razed before the arrival of the firefighters at about 6 a.m.

“The Fire Service were able to put out the fire to avert more destruction, nevertheless, shop owners still suffered losses worth over N10 million.

“The most pathetic thing is that these burnt shops were owned by young traders who have just started business and we appealed to the state government to assist them,’’ he said.

Two victims of the incident, Hassan Olanrewaju and Michael Ajayi, whose shops were razed lamented the ugly incident.

They pleaded with the state government and other well-meaning Nigerians to assist them financially to enable them go back to business.

Mr Adeleke Isiaka, the Fire Service team commander, said his team arrived at the scene promptly when they received the call, adding the response time was impressive.

Isiaka said his team was able to put out the fire on time due to the cooperation received from the traders and sympathisers.

“The cause of the incident is yet to be ascertained, but it is possible that careless handling of cigarette butts may be responsible.

“I am saying this because there was no electricity light, nor any sign of cooking in the market at the time of the incident,’’ Isiaka said.

Men of the Nigeria Police and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) were on ground to prevent looting of shops by people with such motive.

Mr Moshood Adeyemo, the team leader of the NSCDC said his men arrived at the scene at exactly 6 a.m. to secure the area.

He said the operation was quite successful, saying no life was lost.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Court grants Fani-Kayode N50m bail

Fani-kayode sandwiched by EFCC officials Justice James Tsoho of the Federal High Court Abuja on Thursday granted a N50m bail to former spokesman of the Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode. Fani-Kayode was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a five-count charge of money laundering to the tune of N26m. Fani-Kayode is the sole defendant in the fresh charges numbered, FHC/ABJ/CR/140/2016. The EFCC accused the defendant of diverting 26 million Naira allegedly received from the ONSA while Sambo Dasuki was in office. The anti-graft agency also accused him of handling the said N26 million without going through financial institution as required under the Money Laundering Act. The embattled former minister is already facing 17-count charge of money laundering before the Lagos Division of the court, along with a former Finance Minister; Nenadi Usman, Danjuma Yusuf and a firm; Joint Trust Dimension Nigeria Limited. They were charg...

Pope not involved in Colombian peace deal- Vatican

Pope Francis Pope Francis has turned down a request to play a role in the peace deal between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebel group. The Vatican in a statement issued on Wednesday in in Vatican City said that an invitation was sent to his Holiness in early August to appoint a representative to participate in the committee that selected the judges for the talks. The statement said that though Pope Francis supported the peace process, he, however, reiterated that he would not get involved in Colombian peace deal. It said that Pope was praying for the enlightenment of the hearts and minds of those who were called to promote the common good of the Colombian nation. A deal was announced last week, putting an end to five decades of internal conflict between government forces and the FARC rebels. The agreement, which needed to be ratified through a referendum in Oct. 2, would entail setting up a special court to grant amnesties or pu...

Man docked for defiling 9-year-old girl

magistrate-court A 33-year-old man, Godwin Otobo, was on Monday docked at a Surulere Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos.For allegedly defiling a nine-year-old girl, ‎Otobo, who lives at No. 10, Borrow Pit St., Sangotedo-Ajah area of Lagos, was said to have defiled the underage girl whose parents also reside in the same compound. The Prosecutor, Sgt. Anthonia Osayande, told the court that the accused committed the offence at about 9.00 p.m. sometimes in September. “The accused defiled the girl in the night when she was fetching water.‎ “The offence contravened Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011,’’ Osayande told the court. The accused pleaded not guilty to the one-count charge of defilement. Ruling on a bail application filed by the accused, Chief Magistrate Ipaye Nwachukwu, granted him bail in the sum of N500,000 with two sureties in like sum. She said one of the sureties must be a property owner in Lagos State, while the other must be a civil servant on grade...