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From Desmond Mgboh, Kano and Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
Ferocious fire yesterday wreaked havoc in Oyo and Kano states, consuming goods worth over N100 million at the Araromi Spare Parts Market, Agodi Gate, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, and destroying the Bompai headquarters of the Nigeria Police in Kano State.
It would be recalled that two years ago, midnight fire had destroyed hundreds of shops at the same Araromi Spare Parts Market, Ibadan, before the outbreak yesterday in a section of the market.
The first incident, which was bigger, occurred in the market in the early hours of Saturday April 3, 2021, during which hundreds of shops were destroyed.
But in that of yesterday, at least, 27 shops were razed while goods worth over N100 million were said to have been destroyed by the fire, which, according to victims, started around 1:30a.m and was eventually put off around 5:00a.m by men of the Oyo State Fire Service.
General Manager of the State Fire Service, Rev. Canon Yemi Akinyinka, told newsmen yesterday that the fire was put off around 5:00 a.m., saying that the operatives of the fire service got to the Araromi Market Agodi Gate around 2:30 a.m.
He added that preliminary investigation revealed that the fire was caused by indiscriminate refuse burning.
One of the victims, who introduced himself as Wasiu Sanusi, who sells truck tyres, betrayed his emotion as he told Sunday Sun: “Some people called me at night that my shop was on fire. I rushed from my house to this market. But on getting to this place, I discovered that my shop has been burnt totally. The worth of goods that I lost to this fire incident is about N50 million. The shops that we have in this section are 26 or 27.”
Another victim of the inferno, Mrs Yetunde Ibikunle, who also said: “I received a call around 3:00a.m that my shop was burning. On getting to this place, I discovered that everything was gone. I lost over N50 million goods to this fire outbreak. In my shop, I had a generator, ice block making machines, soft drinks and so on. The soft drink that did not burn were not much and I cannot confirm their condition now.
“I use this medium to call on the Oyo State government to assist us because those of us that were affected lost over N100 million to this inferno. Where do we start from again now in this New Year? We need assistance.”
Also in Kano, valuables worth millions of naira were reportedly destroyed as a result of a fire incident that occurred at the Bompai headquarters of the Nigeria Police in Kano State.
A witness told Sunday Sun that the fire started at about 2:00p.m.yesterday, adding that it affected structures from the Provost office down to the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police.
According to the eyewitness, the fire, however, spared the office of the newly posted State Commissioner of Police and the block of offices adjacent to his own office.
The eyewitness disclosed that several documents were believed to have been gutted by the fire, adding, however, that there were no report of injury or loss of life as a result of the accident.
The cause of the blaze could not be established as the Public Relations Officer of the state Fire Service and the Police spokesman, Abdullahi Harua kiyawa could not be reached for comments.
Meanwhile, the mid-day fire has been put off by the officials of the state fire service, who were seen combating the fire while the headquarters has been cordoned off by security personnel.
