2 Cars, 50 Shops Burnt As Fire Consumes Awori Plank Market

Over 50 shops and two cars were burnt on Monday as fire razes the Awori Plank Market in Abule Egba area of Lagos, Nigeria.

The fire started around 12:15am, according to the Spokesman, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Ibrahim Farinloye, but says no life was lost in the inferno.

Farinloye notes that the fire started from a disused plastic site in the market as the fire spread to other part of the market and burnt several shops, leading to the loss of properties worth several millions of naira.

Director, Lagos State Fire Service, Razak Fadipe told African Examiner that fire trucks from Agege, Ikotun and Ikeja, each conveying 10,000 litres of water battled to put out the fire which razed for over five hours.

Fadipe said 50 shops and two cars were burnt in the fire, which also consumed other vital building materials.

“The Abule Egba Sawmill fire consumed about 50 shops containing planks and building materials in a row of three. Two vehicles and cutting machines were affected,” he said.

Police officers from the Oko-Oba Police Station stormed the market to prevent hoodlums from looting properties, while traders were left to mourn their losses.

One of the traders claimed he lost over N200,000, freezers, generators, among others.