A mysterious fire on Saturday afternoon gutted many shops at the popular Oje Market, Ede, in the Ede North Local Government Area of Osun State.

The market is the biggest in Ede and trading activities hold there every five days.

Though the cause of the fire is unknown, sources among the traders in the market told our correspondent that some people noticed smoke from a storey building located inside the market and alerted others to it.

A trader, Lateef Adesoye, whose shop was not affected, said no one could explain how the fire started, adding that before help could come, many shops had been destroyed.

He said angry traders and onlookers did not allow men of the Osun State Fire Service to put out the fire, as they were attacked and their water truck damaged.

When contacted, the Staff Officer, Osun State Fire Service, Adekunle Ibrahim, stated that men and officers deployed to put out the fire were beaten up by some hoodlums, who accused them of responding late to their distress call.

He said they had to abandon the water truck and flee the area, insisting that the effect of the fire would have been minimal if the service had been allowed to work. – Punch

– Jan. 7, 2019 @ 9:55 GMT |