Edo State Government has promised to rebuild Oluku Market and support traders whose shops and goods were destroyed in a petrol tanker explosion along the Benin-Lagos Road.
Gatekeepers News reports that Governor Monday Okpebholo gave the assurance on Friday, October 16, when he visited the affected market in Ovia North-East Local Government Area of the state to assess the damage and sympathise with victims.
The explosion occurred on Thursday after a petrol tanker fell near the busy market, spilling fuel onto the road and adjoining drainage channels.
According to the Edo State Police Command, the fire broke out at about 11:50 a.m. while members of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers’ emergency response team were transferring petrol from the fallen tanker into another truck.
The inferno spread to nearby market stalls and destroyed two buses, an Audi saloon car, a truck and several traders’ goods.
The police confirmed that eight people sustained varying degrees of burns and were evacuated to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, where they are receiving treatment.
However, other media reports have put the number of injured victims at 10 and 11, while reports of possible fatalities remain unconfirmed. The final casualty figures have yet to be conclusively established.
During his visit, Okpebholo criticised the decision to transfer fuel from the fallen tanker without adequate safety precautions, describing the incident as avoidable.
The governor assured affected traders that his administration would not abandon them and pledged to support efforts to rebuild the market.
He also visited victims receiving treatment at the hospital, where some injured persons were reportedly being treated in the burns and plastic ward.
Traders at the market expressed distress over the destruction of their businesses, saying they lost their goods and sources of livelihood in the inferno.
One trader, Ebun Raheem, reportedly put her losses at more than N3 million after recently restocking her shop. Other traders said they were facing difficulties because the fire had destroyed goods purchased with borrowed money.
The market disaster has renewed concerns about the dangers associated with fuel spillage and the practice of scooping petroleum products from fallen tankers.
The police have urged residents to stay away from accident scenes involving petroleum products and cooperate with emergency responders to prevent further casualties.
Meanwhile, the total value of property destroyed in the incident remains undetermined.
