An early morning fire yesterday razed over 80 shops, destroying goods worth millions of naira at the popular Agbara transit motor park and market in Ogun State.
No official reason has been given as the major cause of the fire outbreak, but some witnesses said it started from the shop of a food vendor who had arrived early to prepare for the day’s business.
Our correspondent, however, overheard some traders alleging sabotage by land grabbers who were said to have been scheming to take over the market.
Our correspondent learnt that the fire started at about 5.30am but was later contained around noon yesterday, but not before it had inflicted colossal losses to traders.
One trader, Taiye Quadri, claimed to have lost goods worth over N12 million in the inferno. The wine dealer said that she recently stocked her shop with various alcohol drinks, which were all burnt by the fire.
“Where do I start from? I bought the goods on credit with the agreement I will pay up after selling them. What do I do now? Where do I go to?” Quadri cried.
Another trader, who identified herself as Mama Ejima, appealed to the state government to come to the aid of affected traders, noting that most of those affected were widows who had been surviving on proceeds from sales at the shop.
“i just stood helplessly watching my shop and all in it go down. The fire destroyed all my life’s savings,” Mama Ejima said.
A Fire Service official from the Badagry station who participated in the rescue mission, said rows of containerized make-shift shops at the market had been destroyed by the fire before firemen arrived.
He added that the blaze destroyed more than 72 shops out of the over 105 shops in the market.
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