Fire razes Abeokuta market

Olayinka Olukoya, Abeokuta - 06.03.2008

Over 50 market stalls were in the early hours of Wednesday razed by fire at the Kuto Market in Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun State, with property and goods estimated at millions of naira destroyed.

The inferno was said to have been as a result of a power surge from the Power Holding Company of Nigeria(PHCN) which started from one of the shops in the market. It was gathered that the men of the state Fire Service could not put out the fire until about 9.00 a.m.

The Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Mrs.Titi Oseni and the Chairman of Abeokuta South Local Government Area, Prince Adeyanju Lipede, visited the market for an on the spot assessment of the incident and described it as a “great loss not only to the affected owners but to the local government and the state in general.”

Oseni, while speaking with newsmen, blamed some shop owners for their carefree attitude towards switching off all electrical appliances at the close of business. The duo appealed to the affected people to remain calm and urged them to cultivate the attitude of switching off all electrical appliances before leaving either the house or their places of business.