Goods worth millions of naira were destroyed when fire gutted the popular Araromi Auto Spare Parts Market at Agodi-Gate, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on Saturday.
The inferno, which was said to have started in the market in the early hours of Saturday, razed many shops.
As at 7.30 am on Saturday, officials of the Oyo State Fire Service were still battling to put off the fire.
Two teams of firefighters dashed to the scene when distress calls were made to them.
Some traders gathered in the market, watching helplessly as the fire burnt the shops while few were seen packing off the spare parts they managed to carry out of their shops.
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The fire, some of the traders said, was caused by a power surge in one of the shops in the market, noting that the market just had electricity supply restored recently after years of being without light.
Many of them who wept uncontrollably as they counted their losses said they do not know where to start from again. They asked for government assistance.