An early morning fire on Tuesday gutted the popular Owode market in Offa Local Government Area, one of the commercial hubs in Kwara State.
Speaking on the incident, the spokesperson of the Kwara State Fire Service, Hassan Adekunle, said a distress call was received around 2:30 a.m.
He said investigations revealed that the fire was ignited by a cigarette butt which fell on combustible materials.
“Initial assessment showed that 50 shops were destroyed out of the 3,820 shops and 1,180 stands in the market.
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“The value of commodities and property salvaged by the firefighting efforts is estimated to exceed N12 billion while over N360m property were lost to the incident”, he said.
Adekunle said the Director of the service, Prince Falade John, extended heartfelt sympathies to the market vendors who suffered losses and the entire market community.
He advised traders to be vigilant and safety consciousness at all times.
Daily Trust reports that the market had recorded fire outbreaks in the past.
