There was confusion at the Bodija area of Ibadan, Oyo State, on Sunday as Grandex, a leading supermarket in the state capital, was gutted by fire.
It was gathered that the inferno started around 3pm from the back office of the supermarket and later spread to the main store.
As of the time of filing this report, men of the Oyo State Fire Service were seen battling the raging fire.
Those whose vehicles were parked in the vicinity were also seen scrambling to move them away.
In a related development, property worth millions of naira was destroyed as some shops were gutted by fire in the Obanla area of Akure, the Ondo State capital, on Sunday.
A witness listed some of the items destroyed by the inferno to include electrical materials, sets of electronics, fashion design materials, books, among others.
The witness said it took the efforts of youths in the area to put out the fire.
“We went on a motorcycle to inform the state fire service, but they said they could not do anything because there was no equipment to tackle the fire,” he added.
A fashion designer in the complex, Mrs Modupe Daramola, said she lost three industrial and embroidery machines, four sewing machines, a heavy duty generator, a refrigerator and several textile materials to the inferno.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Tee-Leo Ikoro, said the fire was caused by electrical faults in the complex.
