Alaba market fire ravages law firm, furniture warehouse
A night fire has destroyed the second floor of a two-storey building housing a law firm and a furniture warehouse in the Alaba International Market area of Lagos, leaving goods worth millions of naira in ruins.
PREMIUM TIMES visited the scene on Wednesday morning and observed that the affected section, located in the furniture area of the market, was still smouldering from the previous night’s inferno.
One of the victims, Honourable Ogaba, told this newspaper that the fire started around 7 p.m. on Tuesday, shortly after traders had closed for the day.
“We had closed work and left when we got calls that our market was on fire,” he said. “The fire started around 7 or 7:30 p.m. The fire service tried to stop it but couldn’t — it completely destroyed the second floor.
“We’ve lost goods worth millions, but they should evacuate the first and ground floors so nothing will affect us if the government decides to shut the place. I don’t know what caused it, but it’s a disaster for us.”
When our correspondent inspected the second floor, it was divided into two sections — one for corporate offices and another for a warehouse.
A lawyer who was affected by the fire, and identified himself only as Mr Chima, said he suspected the fire might have started from the warehouse.
“I don’t know exactly how it started, but I suspect it began from the warehouse because everything here was destroyed,” he said.
Books, chairs, and office equipment inside the law firm were burnt beyond recognition, while smoke continued to rise from the debris.
Firefighters battle fire
A staff member of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, who declined to be named, told PREMIUM TIMES that firefighters battled the blaze through the night.
“My colleagues were on duty when the fire started. They fought it overnight, and I just resumed this morning,” he said.
No casualties were recorded in the incident, but traders said the value of destroyed goods runs into millions of naira.
Viral video shows flames spreading
PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that a section of the Alaba International Market was engulfed by fire on Tuesday evening.
A video shared on X (formerly Twitter) showed flames and thick smoke rising from the furniture section near the Ojo Local Government Secretariat.
An X user, Ikechukwu Ude, who posted the footage, said the fire started from “a little spark” before spreading rapidly through rows of shops.
In the clip, traders were seen crying as the blaze consumed their goods, while others made desperate efforts to retrieve what they could.
It was unclear whether operatives of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service or other emergency responders had arrived at the scene at the time the video was recorded. Eyewitnesses were heard calling for help and accusing market security of reacting too slowly.
Market profile and recent Lagos fires
The Alaba International Market, located along the Lagos–Badagry Expressway, is one of West Africa’s largest hubs for electronics, furniture, and building materials, drawing traders from across Nigeria and neighbouring countries.
READ ALSO: Fire guts section of Alaba Market in Lagos
As of Tuesday night, the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service had yet to issue an official statement on the cause of the fire or the full extent of damage.
The Alaba fire followed a recent incident in Lagos.
In September, at least 10 people died following a blaze at Afriland Towers, a six-storey commercial building on Broad Street, Lagos Island.
Among the victims were six staff members of United Capital Plc and four employees of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
Preliminary investigations into that incident indicated that the fire began in the inverter room in the basement before spreading to upper floors.
Emergency responders rescued nine people, five of whom were revived at the scene.