Tragedy struck in Sabo, Ondo City, Ondo State, on Saturday night as a raging fire ravaged at least seven shops at the palm oil wings of Sabo market.
The inferno, which reportedly started at about 12.00 midnight, spread rapidly from one shop to another, consuming hundreds of palm oil kegs and valuables worth millions of naira.
One of the worst-hit victims, who identified himself as Bunmi popularly called Suka, narrated his ordeal with anguish.
He said, “I have two shops with hundreds of kegs of palm oil and other valuables burnt to ashes. I don’t know what to do; we are calling for help from well-meaning Nigerians.”
Another trader recounted losing 1,800 empty kegs and twenty kegs filled with palm oil and other supplies, while colleagues who deal in palm oil watched helplessly as their entire stock was reduced to rubble.
“We have millions of naira burnt in some shops also because today, Sunday, happened to be our market day. We go to the farm to buy palm oil and bring it to the city, so many of us keep the cash in our shops.
“Millions of naira have been lost. Some of the traders here collected loans to buy goods for their shops. We are appealing to both the local and state governments to come to our aid.” he stated
Eyewitnesses told The Hope Metro that the fire spread too quickly for any meaningful rescue effort, leaving shop owners stranded and in tears.
Although the immediate cause of the fire has yet to be officially confirmed, some sources have suggested that it may have been triggered by an electrical spark.
Reacting to the incident, a resident of the area, Adeleke Lukman, described the fire as a “devastating blow” to the community, calling on the government to urgently support the affected traders.
“We sympathise deeply with the victims of this tragedy. This will definitely affect the traders mentally and otherwise; even the consumers will feel the negative impact, so we call on the government and individuals to help them.
“This is an unfortunate incident that has affected members of our community. We urge traders to adhere to safety measures, and we call on authorities to provide functional fire service facilities to prevent a recurrence,” another resident, Aderonke Adeniyi said.
𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁𝘀𝗔𝗽𝗽 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗧𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗔𝘀 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗗𝗿𝗼𝗽!
