A late-night fire tore through a row of shops in Ibadan on Tuesday, leaving behind destruction, heartbreak, and losses running into millions of naira. The incident happened at a commercial complex beside the Akin-Alamu building in the Papa area along Alakia Isebo Road — a usually busy part of the city.
According to the Oyo State Fire Service, the blaze broke out at exactly 11:22 p.m. and quickly spread through the complex, gutting five out of ten shops before firefighters managed to bring it under control. Despite the scale of the destruction, no lives were lost.
Hon. Maroof Akinwande, Chairman of the Oyo State Fire Service, confirmed the details in a statement issued on Wednesday. “We received a distress call and our team, led by Chief Fire Superintendent Adesina Olusoji, responded immediately. On arrival, we met the shops already engulfed in flames,” he said.
The firefighters acted swiftly, restricting the fire from spreading to adjacent buildings and unaffected shops. “The operation was intense,” Akinwande added, “but we were able to save properties worth millions of naira that would have otherwise gone up in flames.”
The fire was traced to an electrical surge, which ignited nearby flammable materials and rapidly escalated into a full-blown inferno.
For affected shop owners, the night was one of the worst in recent memory. Several were seen the following morning rummaging through the remains of what used to be their businesses — some holding back tears, others too stunned to speak.
One trader, simply identified as Mama Tolu, said, “Everything I’ve built over the years is gone. My entire stock was inside that shop. I don’t even know where to start from.”
The incident has once again raised concerns about the safety of electrical connections in commercial areas and the need for preventive fire measures, especially in densely packed shopping zones.
Authorities have urged residents and shop owners to always switch off appliances when not in use and ensure proper wiring to avoid similar disasters.
For now, the smoke may have cleared, but the pain and loss linger in the hearts of those whose livelihoods were reduced to ashes in minutes.
