Tears as fire raze Ibadan auto spare parts market

TopNaija reports that several shops and properties at Araromi auto spare parts market, AgodiGate, Ibadan, were destroyed on Saturday as a mosque was also gutted by fire.

It was gathered that the inferno started at 11:00 pm on Friday and razed over 100 shops, according to an eyewitness.

Investigations by Sunday Tribune revealed that some of the goods which got burnt down included motor spare parts, tyres, cables, engines, and vehicle accessories.

Speaking with Sunday Tribune, Babaloja of Araromi spare parts market, Chief Waheed Azeez, said that the inferno started on Friday night around 11:00 pm after everybody had left their shops saying high voltage may have caused the inferno.

He said: “It was discovered that there was electricity spark around the tyres due to power surge and the fire escalated. Efforts to reach out to the Oyo State Fire Service did not materialize on time and when their personnel arrived, it was a bit late as the inferno had already caused serious destruction.

“We have lost a fortune to this unfortunate incident; investments worth millions of naira have been lost. In fact, most traders here have just restocked their shops. This is colossal, may God take control.

“We are appealing to the government, especially the Federal Government, to come to our aid because this is beyond the state government. This is a community on its own, we want our kind-hearted governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde, to please help us mitigate this loss because this is a setback for all shop owners here. Also, another victim who is into Toyota’s spare parts business, Mohammed Adekunle could only count his losses.

“I don’t know where to start because I have lost all my goods to the incident, this is the worst thing that has ever happened to me, I’m calling on the state government for help. Personally, I have lost over N500,000 worth of goods to this incident, even most of our colleagues cannot show up because they took loans which they invested in various businesses here. In fact, some are down already in their homes, having lost millions of naira to the incident. Another victim, Mrs. Toyin Akinkunmi said both the state and the federal governments need to quickly assist the victims as most of them have lost everything to this incident.

“This is the business we bank on to cater for our children and families, and how do we survive with this sad development?”

Meanwhile, as of the time of filing this report, traders were seen packing off the remnants of the spare parts on the road, while waiting for help from individuals and the authorities to bring succor to them in no time.