No fewer than 24 shops were destroyed after a fire outbreak swept through Mandate Market in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, in the early hours of Tuesday.
The incident was confirmed in a statement issued by the spokesperson of the Kwara State Fire Service, Hassan Hakeem Adekunle.According to the statement, the fire started around 4:44 a.m., with preliminary investigations indicating that an electrical fault triggered the blaze.
The fire was said to have originated from a shop where mobile phone accessories were sold and phones charged, before spreading to nearby shops used for storing food items and other goods.
Firefighters were later deployed to the scene to contain the inferno and prevent it from spreading further within the market.
Reacting to the incident, the Director of the Kwara State Fire Service, CFS Alabi Muhammed, visited the market to sympathise with affected traders over their losses.
He also urged traders and business owners to adopt preventive safety measures, including the installation of fire extinguishers and other fire safety equipment in their shops.The extent of property losses was yet to be officially quantified as of the time of filing this report.