No fewer than three persons have been feared dead by gunshots allegedly fired by men of the ‘Operation Burst’ in the ancient town of Oyo in Oyo State on Sunday following a protest against failure by men of the state Fire Service to quell the fire that ravaged Akesan Market.
The victims were reportedly felled by the bullet in an attempt by the security agents to repel the angry mob from destroying public utilities.
Akesan market is famous for the sale of a wide range of food items, local artefacts, clothing materials, household utensils and more.
The fire, which reportedly started around 12.30 am, destroyed wares worth several millions of naira as attempts to rescue the goods had failed.
Only a few shops were spared in the market.
The Fire Station in Oyo is only a few meters to the market.
The angry mob went wild with rage when the officials on duty at the fire station said they could not do anything to quell the fire because there was no water in the fire truck.
Although the immediate cause of the fire had yet to be ascertained, eyewitnesses attributed the incident to electric spark.
The mob reportedly set the fire truck and other property at the Fire station on fire during the protest.
As of the time of filing this report, firefighters from Ibadan, the state capital, had arrived at the scene with a backup from Ogbomoso to battle the inferno.
Eyewitnesses said the police operatives attached to ‘Operation Burst’ started firing gunshots, which claimed, at least, three lives.
A trader in the market, Tunde Rufai, said, “The fire emanated from electricity spark. The people went violent because the firemen said their vehicle was faulty. Men of the Operation Burst were firing shots to scare protesters away when some people were hit by stray bullet. I was lucky to rescue my wares from the shop because my shop is not in the centre of the market.
Meanwhile, the affected traders were seen wailing as they counted their losses. Some of them appealed to the state government for help. Others called for the total overhaul of fire fighting facilities in the state.
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The Police Public Relations Officer, Oyo State Police Command, Olugbenga Fadeyi, said details of the incident shall be communicated to journalists in the state later.
In its reaction, a socio-cultural group in the town, Oyo Global Forum, said, “We condemn this failure in governance but we shall respond more appropriately on this later.”
