Lagos: traders lose millions of naira as shopping complex goes up in flames
Traders at Better Life Market in Makoko, Yaba, and Mammy Market, on the premises of Armed Forces Resettlement Barracks, Oshodi area of Lagos State, have lost goods valued in hundreds of millions as fire gutted the shopping arcade early this morning.
It was gathered that at least 34 shops were ravaged by the inferno in the two markets.
According to a source, the fire broke out from a shop in the Mammy Market around 1.30am and spread to the other shops.
The inferno was said to have been curtailed by men of the Lagos State Fire Service from the Isolo Fire Station. It was gathered that groceries and provision stores were affected by the incident.
As the fire was put out around 3am, a distress call was said to have been received from residents around the Better Life Market in Makoko.
A resident, Tunde Adejare, said he observed the havoc wreaked on the market by the fire while returning from work around 6am.
“Over 20 shops were destroyed. Foodstuffs, clothes, shoes, among other items, were sold in those shops. Traders rushed to the market to know their fate. Many of them lamented; they could not salvage anything from the rubble. No one could tell where the fire started from,” he added.
The spokesperson for the Lagos State Fire Service, Shakiru Amodu, confirmed the two incidents, adding that the agency would work with relevant authorities to ascertain the causes of the fire incidents.
He said, “The affected shops in Better Life Market are a chain of structures. About 20 shops were affected. We received a call around 3am and Ilupeju and Sari-Igamu fire stations were deployed. It was put out around 4am.
