IBADAN, NIGERIA — Monday turned into a nightmare for business owners in the Sango area of Ibadan. While the rest of the city was gearing up for the 2026 crossover, at least eight shop owners watched their livelihoods go up in smoke in broad daylight.
The fire broke out around 2:00 PM, just a stone’s throw from the Sango Police Station. What makes this painful is that eyewitnesses say the spark happened almost the same minute power was restored to the area. “Light just came on, and the next thing we saw was smoke from the electronics shop,” a bystander told our reporter.
One of the victims, Mrs. Adeola, was inconsolable as she pointed at the charred remains of her stationery shop.
“Everything I struggled to build this year vanished in just thirty minutes,” she cried.
Though the Oyo State Fire Service arrived in time to stop the fire from jumping to the police barracks nearby, the damage to the shops was already total. Now, the community is asking the government: when will these frequent “electrical surges” stop taking people’s bread?
