The biggest market in Ile-Ife, Osun State, Oja Tuntun, experienced a devastating fire that destroyed goods worth millions of naira early on Saturday morning.
The cause of the fire is not yet known. The spokesperson for the Osun State Fire Service, Adekunle Ibrahim, revealed that the firemen received a distress call from a resident living near the market around 12.30 am. Upon arrival at the scene, the firefighters found that the inferno had affected a building containing 16 shops and a container within the market. The fire unit of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, also joined the operation to combat the blaze.
Ibrahim added that the Ile-Ife Zonal Fire Station was alerted about the fire incident at Olulere New Market, Oja Tuntun in Ile-Ife at 12.30am on Saturday, November 11, 2023. The firefighters successfully extinguished the fire with the assistance of the OAU Fire Unit. However, the block comprising 16 shops and a container, totaling 17 shops, suffered damage, with properties worth over N500 million saved.
Before this latest incident, between July 2019 and December 2020, the market experienced three fire incidents which destroyed many shops and goods.