Three feared dead as fire razes popular Oyo market

At least three persons are feared dead in Oyo Town following gunshots by security operatives on Sunday.

This occurred while people were protesting the failure of the firefighters in the town to stop a ravaging fire that razed a larger part of the ancient Akesan market.

Only a few shops and a filling station close by were spared in the raging inferno that lasted several hours.

Annoyed at the delayed response of men of the state fire service in Oyo town, residents of the town vented their anger on the fire station, who attributed their incapacities to non-functional equipment at the disposal.

The situation attracted the attention of the security operatives said to have used live bullets on the protesters, killing three people in the process.

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To curtail the inferno, a reinforcement of firefighter was mobilised from Ogbomosho, which is about 50 kilometres away.

When contacted, the State Police Spokesman denied that the bullets of the police fell the protesters but that he would intensify investigation to unravel the culprit.

He assured that more men have been drafted to the scene to restore normalcy and help put out the fire out completely.