From millions to zero: Dosunmu market fire victims cry out to Lagos govt, other organisations for support

Over 200 traders and shop owners have been affected by this devastating fire, resulting in losses amounting to millions of naira. Mrs. Dosunmu lost two shops, including a warehouse filled with goods worth over N20 million.

The Lagos Island market, popularly known as Isale Eko or Eko market, is one of the largest markets in Lagos. It has existed even before colonial rule.

Mrs. Idiayat Allison-Dosunmu, a businesswoman who owns stalls in the popular market, said her own mother sold textiles and other clothing materials in the market to raise her and her siblings before retiring and passing the business to her. “In those days, I used to come to the shop with her. After finishing school as a child, I would go to my mother’s shop on Dosunmu street. This business is over a hundred years old, and all we’ve worked for vanished in one day,” the sixty-year-old woman said to The Record, tears clouding her eyes. April 9, 2024 is a day many traders and shop owners in Dosunmu market, Lagos Island, will not forget in a hurry. A raging fire, sparked by refuelling a generator, erupted on the fourth floor of No. 10, Dosunmu street. The fire quickly spiralled out of control, fueled by stored fuel in containers in a penthou…