The fire also destroyed goods and valuables worth millions of naira.

An eyewitness told NAN that the inferno started at 1a.m. from the cloth sellers’ section and spread to other sections of the market.

’’The cause of the fire was said to be an upsurge when power was restored by the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBDEC)", he said.

Mr Adetola Soyemi, a shop owner and Chairman of the Remo zone of the Ogun chapter of the Table Water and Beverages Producers’ Association of Nigeria, said the traders were counting their losses.

“It was the electricity that was the restored that created a spark around 1a.m. and if not for the men of fire service, it would have spread to all the sections of the market,” he said.

He listed the affected sections as including cloths, yam flour, grains, herbs, kolanut and building materials sections.