Lagos State Emergency Management Agency Permanent Secretary, Dr Olufemi Damilola Oke-Osanyintolu, has confirmed that an early morning fire destroyed 17 shops at Sabo Market in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State, with emergency responders preventing the blaze from spreading to the wider commercial complex.

The fire broke out at about 1.10am on Tuesday, prompting a rapid response from the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency and the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service.

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Firefighters brought the situation under control before the flames reached adjoining sections of the market, significantly reducing the scale of the damage.

LASEMA spokesperson Olawale Afolabi said preliminary findings indicated that the blaze started in one of the shops before spreading to neighbouring stalls.

According to the agency, investigators suspect an electrical surge while public electricity supply was active may have triggered the incident, although further assessments are continuing.

A post-incident assessment found that 17 of the 32 shops in the affected row were damaged.

Traders lost provisions, groceries, foodstuffs and other merchandise in the fire, adding to the economic burden on small business owners operating in one of Ikorodu’s busiest markets.

Despite the losses, emergency officials described the outcome as encouraging because no fatalities or injuries were recorded.

The swift intervention also helped preserve the remaining shops within the affected row as well as nearby stalls, preventing what could have developed into a far more devastating incident.

Olawale Afolabi said, “Fortunately, no loss of life or injuries were recorded. The remaining shops within the affected row, as well as adjoining shops in the market, were largely salvaged due to the timely response of emergency teams.”

Recovery operations have since been completed, with emergency personnel concluding their assessment and returning to base after securing the scene.

Dr Oke-Osanyintolu urged market leaders, traders and residents to strengthen electrical safety practices by ensuring shops are properly wired, avoiding overloaded electrical appliances and carrying out routine inspections of electrical installations.

The permanent secretary also encouraged residents to report emergencies promptly through the state’s toll-free emergency numbers, 112 and 767, to enable faster response times during future incidents.

The incident is the latest in a series of fire emergencies recorded across Lagos in recent weeks. Three days earlier, emergency responders contained a fire that engulfed a three-storey residential building in the Ikosi area of the state.

No lives were lost in that incident, reinforcing the growing importance of rapid emergency response even as authorities continue to emphasise preventive safety measures.

Although the exact cause of Tuesday’s blaze remains under investigation, recurring cases linked to suspected electrical faults have continued to raise concerns about ageing wiring systems, overloaded circuits and compliance with electrical safety standards in many of the state’s densely populated markets.

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Authorities have repeatedly advised traders to carry out regular inspections and adopt safer electrical practices to reduce the risk of similar incidents.