A midnight fire incident has destroyed multimillion naira goods in at least 10 shops at Orita-Aperin in Ibadan, Oyo State capital.

---

 

The incident was said to have occurred at midnight and the cause of the inferno was yet to be ascertained at the time of filing this report.

A leader of the affected market, Mr. Abiodun Hammed, said: the fire started by 12 midnight while officers of the Oyo State Fire Service were invited but could not rescue the situation due to the fact that the norsel of their truck failed to function.

He disclosed that majority of the shop owners and sympathizers embarked on self-help adding that, the loss would have been more than this.

Hammed appealed to Oyo State Government to assist the victims of the inferno, saying the huge loss would be too difficult for the victims to bear alone.

One of the affected traders, Latifat Adegbola, who said she collected loan to stock her shop, disclosed that all her goods have been consumed by fire and the remaining ones are useless calling on the state government to come to her aids.

Meanwhile, Governor Seyi Makinde has commiserated with the victims, saying he received the news of inferno at Aperin Market with sadness, as he vowed to get to the roots of the sad incident.

In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, Makinde condoled with the market men and women who lost their valuables to the fire incident adding that it was painful that the incident happened in the dead of the night when many of the shop owners were far asleep.

He assured market leaders, market men and women, especially those affected by the Aperin fire incident to rest assured that the government of Oyo state will not abandon them to their fate at this time.

Makinde promised that his government will not only unravel the cause of the fire but will also support the victims of the incident.