A popular market in Edo state has been ravaged by fire in the early hours of Monday morning.
The popular market is the Oba market in Benin city which is the Benin Monarch market located very close to the Oba of Benin’s Palace.
Reports from the scene say that the fire service was slow to respond, citing the lack of fuel and water as their reason, despite the fire service being very close to the popular market.
market after the fire 
firemen fighting the fie 
firemen after the fire had been stopped
Madam Blacky Ogiamien who is the women leader of the state also spoke on the incident, saying she had received a distress call from one of her members, informing her of the fire at about 1 am on Monday morning. She then proceeded to the scene of the fire where the men of the fire service helped control the spread of the fire and limit the damage.
She also said the fire incident in the state had ceased due to the closure of the markets in Benin due to the coronavirus outbreak in the state, with the market just recently reopened as a measure of the easing of the lockdown. There was also fire at the Ekiosa market in Edo state last year which is yet to be fully recovered from according to Madam Blacky Ogiamien.
