Traders at the popular Balogun market in Lagos are left weeping following a fire incident that engulfed their shops.
The fire was said to have occurred at 5 am on Thursday, before it was put out by a combined effort of the federal and state fire services.
Many of the traders, especially those selling clothes and bags, lamented that they had stocked millions of naira worth of goods for end-of-year sales before the fire incident occurred.
One of the affected traders, identified simply as Iya Akande, broke down in tears while narrating the incident as she lamented that some of them took loans to purchase goods ahead of Christmas and the New Year.
“I just came to the market to open my shop and saw many traders crying. I looked up and saw that our goods have been gutted by fire. We are in trouble. Many of us took loans to get goods so that we can make much profit during this festive period.”
Asked to estimate the number of goods burnt, she said it runs in “billions.”
The incident was confirmed by acting Coordinator, National Emergency Management Agency NEMA, Lagos State Territorial District, Ibrahim Farinloye, who said it was completely put out at 7 a.m., saying: “No life was lost to the incident and nobody sustained injuries.”
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