An early-morning fire has destroyed nine locked-up shops at the Nigerian Railway shopping complex along the Aleshinloye Market axis of Ibadan, Oyo State, leaving traders counting losses running into millions of naira.

The inferno reportedly started at about 5am on Saturday, with the affected shops already engulfed in flames before firefighters were alerted. Among those hit was an interior decoration business whose owner, Busari Olayemi, said goods and equipment worth approximately ₦21 million were destroyed.

According to him, the fire consumed window blinds, curtain fabrics, industrial sewing machines, tools and customers’ materials stored inside the shop. The Oyo State Fire Services Agency said it received the distress call at 5:58am and immediately deployed a firefighting crew to the scene.

On arrival, firefighters found nine shops engulfed by flames and thick smoke. A second fire truck carrying 10,000 litres of water was subsequently deployed as reinforcement. After a coordinated firefighting operation, the blaze was brought under control before it could spread to adjoining shops and properties.

No casualty was recorded.

The Chairman of the Oyo State Fire Services Agency, Moroof Akinwande, said preliminary findings indicated that the fire may have been caused by an electrical surge, which ignited combustible materials inside the affected premises.

The latest incident has once again raised concerns over fire safety in commercial areas across Ibadan, coming after previous market fires in the city that left traders with devastating losses. For the affected traders, however, the immediate concern is the scale of the destruction — with businesses wiped out before the start of another working day.

More details are expected as investigations into the cause of the fire continue.