Disaster struck Thursday night, as fire razed down the entire Ifelodun Plank Market located at Ketu, Lagos. No life was however lost.
The fire with its cause yet unknown was said to have started hours after the market had closed for the day. The fire, which started about 9pm, was said to have spread quickly throughout the market, threatening surrounding residential buildings. This happened before the fire service personnel got to the scene.
More than three buildings were affected by the fire: the Ifelodun Mosque, the Apostolic Church and another building beside them were affected.
A similar fire incident also happened in 2010.
Meanwhile, the chairman of Ifelodun Plank Market Association, Alhaji Aliyu Bello, lamented that the mystery behind the fire could be traced to an age-long tussle between the traders and the local government.He said
“The fire started around 9.30pm. We rushed down here but it was so much that the fire service could not gain entry to the area on time. The way it escalated makes the fire suspicious. I am not surprised that this happened because there has been a tussle on the ownership of the land between the local government and we the traders for some years now.”
A shop owner identified as Salami who was spotted sobbing having lost his whole shop in the fire said that government must have conspired with the security men to set the market on fire. “They were supposed to be around, but on this very day, they were nowhere to be found. It was planned.”
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