Kwara traders lament over N20m losses to market fire

Victims of the popular Ipata market inferno in Ilorin, where over 70 livestock and other items burnt to ashes, have continued to count their losses.

The Babaloja of Ipata market, Alhaji Dauda Omolabi who spoke to Daily Trust lamented the huge loss adding that no less than twenty million naira was lost to the inferno.

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According to Aliu Oladoke Yahaya popularly known as Baba Elelubo, the fire burnt his N1.4m cash and goods worth N1.6m.

He said “I had N1.4m cash in my burnt shop. I was supposed to go to the market for purchase on Friday morning. I also had no fewer than 145 bags of various feeds in the shop and 5 bundles of roofing sheets. There were all destroyed” he lamented.

Speaking in the same vein, a cow seller, Ahmed Razaq Olanrewaju, who said he lost 20 cows, 15 rams among other animals, put his loss at N4m.

Olanrewaju while ruing his loss said he just bought some cows few hours before the incident, adding that out of all his stock, he could only retrieve a cow, which was gutted by fire but escaped with injuries.

For Saheed Abdulrahman, a feeds and cow dealer, he lost over N200,000 worth of cows and feeds worth more than N1m.

“I borrowed money just yesterday to buy feeds and other stocks. I’m left with just N1,000 now. A bag of cow feed cost N7,000 and I have more than 100 bags in the shop that was gutted by fire.

For Kale Omolabi, a dealer of cows, goats and rams, nothing less than N1.5m worth of animals were lost to the inferno.

He expressed sadness that he’s now left with absolutely nothing and pleaded with the government to as a matter of urgency assist them in evacuating the refuse heap that ignited the fire.

Mansur Umar, from Sokoto State who started business in the market almost 15 years ago said he had never experienced such an incident in his life.

Umar, whose makeshift abode is a stone throw from the scene of the incidence narrated that “We started breaking the doors of the other shops to allow the remaining cows, goats and rams under lock to escape from the raging inferno. Sadly while some ran away, others were stolen.”