An early Monday morning fire has destroyed a number of shops at Oranya Market in Ibadan North-East Local Government Area of Oyo State.
Initial reports from traders and eyewitnesses suggested that nearly 300 shops may have been affected, with businesses dealing in gold, furniture, second-hand clothing and other goods reportedly among those hit by the fire.
One of the traders, identified as Iya Alia, said the fire started around midnight.
She said, “The fire started around midnight. I cannot be specific about that time. Those affected were gold sellers, furniture sellers, second-hand clothes sellers and many others.”
Another eyewitness described the incident as devastating, saying a large number of businesses had been affected.
The eyewitness said, “This is devastating. This is huge. I don’t even know how to explain it. Close to 300 shops were destroyed.”
However, the Oyo State Government said it was too early to determine the exact number of shops destroyed or the value of goods lost.
The Special Adviser to Governor Seyi Makinde on Fire Reforms and Chairman of the state Fire Services, Morof Akinwande, confirmed the incident and said the fire had been brought under control.
Akinwande said the blaze reportedly started in the middle of the market and was accompanied by an explosion.
He said, “The number we cannot ascertain, but what is known is that some shops were destroyed and the fire incident started in the middle of the market with an explosion.”
He explained that investigations would be required before the authorities could establish the exact extent of the damage and determine what caused the explosion.
According to him, the situation had been brought under control from about 1 a.m.
Akinwande added, “On the number of shops and inventory, that is too early because that’s post-fire outbreak investigation. So, I cannot be accurate about the number of shops that were destroyed. But shops were actually gone.”
The latest incident comes amid recent fire outbreaks in parts of Ibadan.
In 2024, more than 200 shops were reportedly destroyed by fire in the herbal section of Oranya Market.
Also, on Saturday, August 22, 2026, nine locked-up shops at the Nigerian Railway shopping complex near Aleshinloye Market in Ibadan South-West Local Government Area were gutted by fire.
Goods and equipment worth millions of naira were reportedly destroyed in that incident.
One of the affected traders, Busari Olayemi, said his interior decoration business lost products and equipment valued at about N21m.
He said, “The fire destroyed products worth about N21 million, including window blinds, curtain fabrics, industrial sewing machines and other equipment.”
The authorities are expected to conduct further assessments to establish the full extent of losses from the Oranya Market fire.
