By Sabiu Abdullahi
A fire outbreak has destroyed several shops and goods worth millions of naira at the popular Mandate Market in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.
The incident occurred in the early hours of Tuesday and caused panic among traders and residents in the busy market.
Residents and traders reportedly tried to control the fire before firefighters arrived at the scene.
Eyewitnesses said many shops were affected, while traders lost large quantities of goods to the inferno.
The Babalola of Mandate Market, Alhaji Murtala Tambaruku, said the destruction left many traders devastated.
“Several properties were destroyed running into several millions of naira. Some of the traders fainted and we are talking about those selling rice, vegetable oil, drinks, drugs and gadgets. One of the rice sellers just got over five million naira supply yesterday and everything is gone.
“The walls and the shops were completely razed without the affected traders salvaging anything”, he said.
The Kwara State Fire Service confirmed the incident and said it received a distress call around 4:44am before firefighters were deployed to the market.
According to the agency, the affected section belongs to a market that contains more than 200 shops, while 24 shops were destroyed by the fire.
The Fire Service blamed the scale of the destruction on the late reporting of the incident, stating that the fire had already spread before emergency officials arrived.
“Nevertheless, the gallant firefighters of the Kwara State Fire Service displayed exceptional courage and professionalism in combating the inferno and successfully averted further destruction across the market,” the agency’s spokesperson, Hassan Adekunle, said.
Adekunle disclosed that preliminary findings showed that the fire started as a result of a power surge.
“The fire was said to have started from a shop dealing in phone accessories and phone charging services before spreading to adjoining shops where foodstuffs and other goods were stored,” he said.
He added that the Director of the Kwara State Fire Service, Alabi Muhammed, later visited the market to assess the level of damage and sympathise with the affected traders.
“During the visit, he met with leaders of the market associations and reassured them of the agency’s support.
“He also urged traders and market operators to prioritise fire safety measures, including the installation of fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, sprinkler systems, fire alarms and electrical protection devices,” he noted.
Adekunle also said the agency reminded market leaders about its yearly fire safety awareness campaigns across markets in the state and urged traders to follow safety guidelines to avoid future incidents.
