JUST IN: Early morning fire razes shops in Oyo market

A devastating fire swept through Oranya Market in Ibadan, Oyo State, early Monday morning, destroying an estimated 300 shops. The blaze significantly impacted traders dealing in a variety of goods, including gold, furniture, and second-hand clothing.

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The fire started around midnight. I cannot be specific about that time. And those affected were gold sellers, furniture sellers, second-hand clothes sellers and many others. The shops affected were almost 300.

Eyewitnesses reported that the fire began around midnight. One trader, identified only as Iya Alia, stated that the affected businesses included gold sellers, furniture dealers, and sellers of used clothes, among others. Another eyewitness described the scene as "devastating" and "huge," estimating the number of destroyed shops to be close to 300.

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This is devastating. This is huge. I don’t even know how to explain it. Close to 300 shops were destroyed.

Morof Akinwande, the Special Adviser to Governor Seyi Makinde on Fire Reforms and State Chairman of Fire Services, confirmed the incident. He noted that the fire started in the middle of the market, possibly with an explosion, which would have caused it to spread rapidly. However, he stated that the situation was under control by 1 a.m.

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Yes, it occurred. That number we cannot ascertain, but what is known is that some shops were destroyed and the fire incident started in the middle of the market with an explosion. Whether it’s a gas explosion or other things. And when you have a gas explosion, it would spread, but as I am talking to you, the situation has been under control since 1 am.

Akinwande cautioned that determining the exact number of shops and the value of inventory lost would require a post-fire investigation. He added that while some shops were confirmed destroyed, precise figures are not yet available. This incident follows a similar fire in the market's herbal section earlier in 2024, which destroyed over 200 shops, and another in August 2026 that razed nine shops at the Nigerian Railway shopping complex.

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On the number of shops and inventory, that is too early because that’s post-fire outbreak investigation. So, I cannot be accurate about the number of shops that were destroyed. But shops were actually gone.