The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency and the state’s police command on Friday disagreed over the cause of fire at Cairo Market, Oshodi, Lagos, where about 101 shops, four offices and goods worth millions of naira were destroyed.
While LASEMA said the fire was caused by “some form of explosives/accelerants,” alleging foul play, police dismissed the claim, describing it as a rumour.
It was learnt that the fire broke out at the fabric market around 8pm on Thursday, and spread to several shops before emergency responders arrived at the scene.
The LASEMA General Manager, Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, in a statement on Friday, said the fire was contained through the joint effort of the agency and state’s fire service, lamenting that responders were attacked during the operation.
He said, “Initial investigations suggest that some form of explosives/accelerants were used, indicating some foul play. Relevant authorities including the Nigeria Police have been alerted to carry out further investigations. The fire affected 66 K-Clamp shops, 25 containerised shops, four administrative offices and goods worth millions of naira.
“Our firefighters were exposed to violence at the incident. Members of the public sabotaged our efforts by cutting our hoses in the middle to save their individual shops which affected the overall efforts of our personnel and caused damage to our equipment.
“Some members of our team were attacked with several sustaining injuries that required medical attention. It is of note that in the course of attempting to discharge their duties, first responders are being attacked. The agency intends to engage the market authorities on fire prevention and modalities of cooperation in such incidents.”
However, the Commissioner of Police in the state, Hakeem Odumosu, who visited the scene on Friday for on-the-spot assessment, dismissed the rumours, urging people to desist from making inflammatory statements that could set the country on fire.
Odumosu in a statement on Friday said the Explosive Ordnance Department of the command had not discovered any bomb at the scene.
He stated, “We have seen what happened and we give God the glory that no lives were lost. No matter the values of things that were lost, it cannot be compared with lives. We also thank God that the portion that got burnt is not more than the area not burnt.
“Since it started, I have deployed my men and they have been on the ground. My coming is to have a physical assessment of what happened. We are to ensure that there is no breakdown of law and order here. The rumour going round that it was a bomb should be dismissed. The tension is already high in the country and we should not make inflammatory statements.
“That’s why I am here with my technical team, the bomb experts in the police and they have gone round and no proof the fire was caused by a bomb. It has been ruled out that there was a bomb explosion here. No bomb was found here. So people should allow the fire service and the police to conduct their investigation and when the report from their laboratory comes out, we will make a statement.”
The statement also quoted the Chairman, Oshodi/Isolo Local Government, Bolaji Ariyo, as appealing to people to wait for the outcome of police investigation.
He said, “We believe investigation is going to be carried out to identify the cause of the fire. Our people are really in pain. From what I heard, many in the market collected money from microfinance banks to do business because Ramadan is coming to an end. It’s only God that can comfort them. I really feel sorry for them but I pray God will come to their needs.”
Source : Punch Newspaper
