A late-night fire on Friday destroyed a popular food market in Ipetumodu, the headquarters of the Ife-North local government area of Osun State.
The market, known as Akinola Market, operates on Fridays, primarily selling food commodities. According to reports, the fire began in the yam section before spreading to other areas, causing extensive damage to goods worth millions of naira.
Sola Omilana, a local resident, told reporters that many people gathered at the market early Saturday morning to offer their sympathy to affected shop owners.
Kehinde Adeleke, spokesperson for the Osun State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), confirmed the incident. She said preliminary investigations indicated that the fire was caused by debris set alight by shop owners after business hours.
“The fire resulted from dirt set on fire by the shop owners after closing for the day. Unfortunately, they did not fully extinguish the flames before leaving,” Adeleke said. “The fire destroyed food items worth millions of naira.”
