IBADAN, OYO STATE — Thick smoke and the pungent scent of burnt medicinal roots hung heavy over the Ibadan South-West Local Government Area on Friday morning, July 3, 2026 following a devastating inferno that tore through the historic Bode Traditional Herbs and Other Products Market.

Popularly known as Iso Alagbo, the market—a legendary commercial nerve center that supplies traditional healers, alternative medicine practitioners, and traders across West Africa—was plunged into chaos in the early hours of Friday. The blaze completely razed multiple shops, reducing millions of naira worth of rare herbs, animal skins, and ancestral remedies to ash.

The fire reportedly broke out while the city was asleep, starting in one of the central stalls before gaining rapid momentum. Eyewitnesses reported that the highly combustible nature of the dry botanical stock, coupled with the tightly packed layout of the market, allowed the flames to leap aggressively from shop to shop.

Traders who live nearby rushed to the scene after receiving panicked phone calls, only to find a wall of fire engulfing their livelihoods. Many broke down in tears, watching helplessly as years of investment dissolved into thick black smoke.

"It has been a long time since we experienced this kind of disaster here," lamented Mama Kaila, a veteran trader whose stall was caught in the path of the inferno. "Our losses cannot be quantified. Everything we accumulated over several years is gone in minutes. It runs into millions of naira."

Officials from the Oyo State Fire Service responded to the emergency call, arriving at the scene to battle the raging blaze. While their prompt intervention successfully locked down the fire and prevented it from wiping out the entire commercial district, the operation was heavily impeded by the structural design of the market itself.

The congested corridors and tightly clustered stalls created a maze that made it exceptionally difficult for firefighting equipment to navigate into the heart of the outbreak.

While the exact cause of the electrical or accidental spark is still being investigated, market leadership has repeatedly urged vendors to exercise extreme caution regarding electrical appliances and power surges.

While the material losses are staggering, the market community expressed immense gratitude that no lives were lost in the disaster.

Following the tragedy, key political and community figures stepped forward to support the devastated vendors with substantial financial relief. Senator Sharafadeen Alli visited the market leadership to express his condolences and announced a ₦25 million donation, while Bimbo Adekanmbi contributed ₦2.5 million to aid the reconstruction process. Additionally, Dr. Adekemi Opatunde provided ₦5 million in direct aid along with 15,000 nose masks to help safeguard traders working amidst the smoky aftermath.

The Babaloja of the market, Mr. Salau Oloya, and the Iyaloja, Mrs. Sikira Alaja, are currently coordinating with local authorities to assess the full scale of the structural damage. For now, the resilient traders of Iso Alagbo face the monumental task of clearing the debris and rebuilding Ibadan's most iconic hub of traditional healing from the ground up.