A fire outbreak that started in the early hours of Tuesday engulfed several shops at Owode Market in Offa, Kwara State, destroying a lot of properties, News About Nigeria reports.
A video of the incident captured by SaharaReporters showed some shop owners mourning as they watched their businesses go up in flames.
One trader speculated that the fire might have been caused by cooking activities due to excessive lighting in the area.
According to a source from the town, personnel from the Federal Fire Service and Kwara State Fire Service eventually quenched the fire.
However, at least five shops were affected by the inferno, with the worth of goods and properties destroyed yet to be determined pending assessment by authorities.
“The authorities are still assessing the situation, but personally, I know at least five shops were affected. The worth of goods and properties destroyed can’t be said now until the assessment finishes.
“There are also several claims as to the cause of the fire until we wait for the fire service to release their statement on it,” the source said.
Meanwhile, this incident comes on the heels of previous fire outbreaks in the region.
Barely eight months ago, a midnight fire razed a residential building in Offa, destroying property worth N6.5 million.
In December, 14 shops were reportedly razed by fire in two separate incidents in the Tanke area of Ilorin, Kwara State’s capital.
During those incidents, the Kwara State Fire Service intervened and saved a number of shops from the fire.
The spokesman for the fire service, Hassan Adekunle, confirmed their response and stated that property worth N13.3 million was saved due to their prompt intervention.
Authorities are yet to release an official statement on the cause of the recent fire outbreak at Owode Market in Offa, Kwara State.
