There is an uneasy calm in Oyo town after an early morning fire razed larger part of the ancient Akesan market with the men of the nearby fire service unable to curtail the situation.
The situation got messier when youths vented their anger on the fire service, who attributed their incapacities to non-functional equipment at the disposal.
The youths, in their hundreds, had stormed the fire station burning tyres in the process.
The situation attracted the attention of the security operatives said to have used live bullets on the protesters, killing three people in the process.
To battle the raging inferno, a reinforcement of fire fighter has been mobilised from Ibadan, the capital city and Ogbomosho, which is about 50 kilometres away.
Although, source could not give the exact identity of the security operatives, who fired the shots that fell three of the protesting youths, operative of the state owned anti crime outfit, codenamed Operations Burst were fingered as the suspects.
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.
Worried by the development, an Oyo Town based youth group, Oyo Global Forum said a good part of the market would have been saved if the nearby fire station had functional equipment.
While condemning the government for providing the necessary equipment for the fire fighters to work with, especially in the particular season, the group also kicked against what it described as disproportionate use of force in response to angry residents by the security operatives who led to the death of three innocent and harmless youths.
The statement signed by the Secretary of the group, Mr Taiwo Hassan Adebayo, also said in due course it would demand from the government due compensation and rebuilding of the market.
As at the time of filing this report, fire fighters are still on ground battling the inferno and save whatever that could be saved.
The fire was said to have started around 1am with no one able to ascertain the cause of the fire yet.
