The Oyo State Fire Service has said the fire at the Bodija Market, Ibadan, was aided by several kegs of petrol stored in some shops in the market.
The agency’s Director of Operations, Mr Ismail Adeleke, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria on Tuesday, however, said the agency was still investigating the main cause of the incident.
According to him, one Ayo Akeredolu from the Yemetu Police Station, Ibadan, called around 5.35am on Monday to inform the agency about the inferno.
“We responded quickly with a 27,000-litre capacity truck with water to the market and started putting the fire under control.
“Another 10,000-litre capacity truck also joined in our operation to finally put out the fire.
“However, in the course of our operation, we discovered that grinding machines were in most of the shops with some kegs of petrol, which contributed to the spread of the inferno,” he added.
Recall that three blocks, comprising 11 lock-up shops per block, situated at Ori-Igi Lane in the market, were affected by the fire.
Property worth millions of naira was also estimated to have been razed by the fire.
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