Dugbe Market, a popular shopping hub in the Ibadan North West Local Government Area of Oyo State, has been ravaged by fire.
Three shops were razed, and properties worth millions of naira were destroyed in the inferno which occurred at 12:25 a.m. on Sunday.
The General Manager of Oyo State Fire Agency, Mr Yemi Akinyinka, confirmed the incident in a statement issued on Sunday.
Akinyinka said the agency was informed immediately the fire incident started and it mobilised its men to the scene immediately.
He informed that three shops out of the thirteen shops were completely razed.
“On getting there, three shops out of thirteen shops had already been engulfed by fire and we swung into action and restricted the fire from spreading to other nearby properties.
“The fire was completely extinguished and people on ground were educated on proper ways of preventing fire incidents during the Hammattan and how to control it at the incipient stage.
“Three shops were destroyed, and thirteen shops and other properties were saved by the officers of Oyo State Fire Services Agency.
“The cause of the fire was traced to a burning of refuse unattended to by the occupants of the premises.
Therefore, indiscriminate burning of refuse, bush and undergrowth should totally be avoided in our communities”.
The incident has left traders and residents of the neighbourhood in a state of panic. The owners of the affected shops, who are still struggling to come to terms with the incident, were alerted through telephone calls.
According to the traders, the frequent fire outbreaks in some parts of the state have become a major concern, not just for traders but for the entire population of the state.
One of the traders lamented, “We cannot sleep with both eyes closed anymore, as fire incidents are becoming rampant.
“We all left our various shops late on Saturday, hoping to return on Monday, but we were shocked to receive distress calls from people in the neighbourhood alerting us about the incident.
“While some traders were fortunate to have their shops spared, others have lost their entire fortunes to the inferno.”