At least 10 shops were destroyed by fire on Monday night at the Iya Maryam Adebara Complex in the Ogunpa Market area of Ibadan.
The chairman of the Oyo State Fire Services Agency, Moroof Akinwande, said in a statement released Tuesday that the agency received a distress call at 8:11 p.m. from the Baale of Ogunpa, Nurudeen Lawal.
Akinwande said firefighters were immediately dispatched to the scene and found 10 shops among several already engulfed by flames. He said that firemen were promptly deployed to the scene of the incident and on arrival met 10 shops out of several other shops already engulfed by fire.
“Our officers swiftly got into action and prevented the fire from spreading to other shops and nearby properties while the Federal Fire Service also joined hands with us to extinguish the fire,” he said. The chairman said the fire was caused by a shop occupant who was refueling a generator while it was in operation, triggering the blaze.
He added that no casualties were recorded and praised officers from the Iyaganku Police Headquarters for providing security during the incident.