Femi Ashekun/
A late-night fire tore through parts of the Alaba International Market in Ojo, Lagos State, on Tuesday, destroying several shops and goods worth millions of naira.
Eyewitnesses said the blaze began around 8.30pm and spread rapidly through rows of stalls before firefighters arrived at the scene.
One trader, who identified himself simply as Chike, said the fire appeared to have started from one of the electronics sections before spreading to adjoining shops.
“We just saw thick smoke coming from one of the blocks and people started shouting for help,” he said. “Before we could bring water, the fire had already consumed everything. Many people lost all their goods.”
Another eyewitness, a shop owner named Mariam, said the market was still busy when the fire broke out, making it difficult for people to escape with their wares.
“People were shouting and running in different directions,” she recounted. “Some tried to remove their goods but the flames were too much. By the time the fire service came, most of the shops were gone.”
Residents living near the market confirmed that firefighters from Ojo and Sari-Iganmu stations arrived later in the night to battle the flames.
According to one local resident, “They did their best to stop the fire from spreading to other parts of the market, but many shops had already been destroyed before they got control of it.”
The cause of the fire remains unknown, though several traders suspect it might have been triggered by an electrical fault given the heavy use of power generators in the area.
“We don’t really know how it started, but we always have problems with light here,” said another witness. “There are wires everywhere, and once something sparks, it spreads fast.”
The Alaba International Market, located in Ojo, is Nigeria’s largest hub for electronics and home appliances and one of West Africa’s busiest trading centres.
The fire has once again raised concerns about the safety of crowded markets in Lagos, where narrow passages, illegal electrical connections, and limited fire-access routes make such incidents frequent and often devastating.
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