A growing practice among traders at the Ilepo area along the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway has raised concerns over the risk of a potential fire outbreak.
Traders at the Ilepo food market have increasingly relied on flickering kerosene lanterns and other open-flame lamps to display food items and other commodities in the early hours of the day.
Most mornings, the traders bring their wares to the edge of the expressway, often occupying the first lane inward Iyana-Ipaja, for motorists travelling from Abule-Egba, while illuminating their goods with open-flame lanterns.
THE WHISTLER observed that the situation persists until late mid-morning before normal traffic flow is restored.
Given the proximity of the lanterns to moving vehicles and the traffic usually experienced in the area during the early hours, as commercial buses drop passengers, there are fears that the practice could trigger a major fire incident if authorities fail to intervene.
The concerns come amid rising fire incidents in Lagos State.
No fewer than 133 lives and property valued at N19.72bn were lost to fire outbreaks in Lagos in 2025.
The figure represents an increase from 2024, when 91 lives and property worth N19.52bn were lost to fire incidents across the state.
The statistics were contained in the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service’s 2025 Activity Report, unveiled during the 2026 Staff Engagement programme themed, “People, Preparedness and Service Delivery: Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service,” held in Alausa, Ikeja.
According to the report, the agency received 2,617 emergency calls during the period under review, including 645 false alarms. It recorded 1,685 fire incidents and rescued 473 victims alive, while property valued at N118.32bn was saved.
Efforts by THE WHISTLER to obtain comments from the spokesperson of the Lagos Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC), Ajayi Lukman, were unsuccessful.
