The biggest markets in Lagos: our list, and how we chose it

Search for “the biggest market in Lagos” and you will find a dozen confident answers that disagree with each other. That is not because anyone is lying. It is because nobody publishes a reliable, comparable count of traders, shops or money changing hands for Lagos markets. Many of them are not one building but whole districts, with traders in plazas, in warehouses, on pavements and on car bonnets, and the edges move every year.

So this is our list, not a league table. We picked markets that are each famous across Nigeria for one big thing, that sources describe as among the largest of their kind, and that a visitor or a Lagos newcomer is most likely to need. The order is roughly by how often people ask about them, not by size.

How we chose

• Known nationally, not just to the street around it.
• Specialist: each one is the place for something, whether fabric, electronics, phones or car parts.
• Described as one of the largest by a news report or reference source, which we name. Where a claim is the market’s own or a reference site’s, we say so.

1. Balogun Market, Lagos Island

Known for: fabrics, especially lace and Ankara, plus shoes, bags and ready-made clothes.

Balogun is the market most Lagosians name first. It is not a single hall but a district spread across many streets of Lagos Island, so it has no single address. It is where families go for aso ebi before a wedding and where traders from elsewhere come to buy in bulk. Read our first-timer’s guide to Balogun.

2. Alaba International Market, Ojo

Known for: electronics and appliance repair.

Out on the mainland in Ojo, Alaba is the name people use for TVs, sound systems, home appliances and the parts to fix them. Wikipedia and BBC News Pidgin both describe it as the largest electronics market in Nigeria. In June 2023 the Lagos State Building Control Agency began demolishing buildings in the market that it said were structurally defective. We have a full guide to Alaba.

3. Computer Village, Ikeja

Known for: phones, laptops, accessories and repairs.

Computer Village sits in the Otigba area of Ikeja, the state capital. It grew in a neighbourhood that was zoned for homes, and news reports have often called it the largest market of its kind in Africa. It opens every day except Sundays and public holidays. The Lagos State Government has planned for years to move its traders to a bigger site at Katangowa, along the Lagos–Abeokuta Expressway; it has been on the table since at least 2013. One honest warning: reports over the years have raised concerns about counterfeit goods and stolen phones in the market, so buy from a trader someone you trust has used, and test everything before you pay.

4. Ladipo Market, Mushin

Known for: car spare parts, new and tokunbo (used and imported).

Ladipo, in Mushin, takes its name from Ladipo Street in the Papa Ajao area. If a Lagos mechanic says “I will check Ladipo,” this is what he means. Buyers reportedly come from Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and other countries. In 2015 the Lagos State Government demolished parts of the market, citing poor roads and a shortage of space around it, and planned to rebuild the market road.

5. Oshodi’s markets

Known for: everything, at the busiest junction on the mainland.

The old Oshodi market was once described as one of the largest in the Lagos metropolis. In January 2016 the state demolished it, saying it wanted to ease traffic and crime and build a bus terminus on the site, and traders were told to move to a new market at Isopakodowo. Markets still trade around Oshodi, including the Arena market. We tell the full story in Oshodi Market and the Oshodi interchange.

6. The specialists

Lagos has hundreds of markets, and some of the most useful are small and focused. A few names you will hear:

If you are curious about the corner of Lagos where our game is set, read about Olodi-Apapa and Boundary Market.

How Lagos markets work, in five lines

1. Traders cluster. One street sells lace, the next sells shoes. Ask for the section, not just the market.
2. Prices are spoken, not printed. Bargain politely and know roughly what you want to pay.
3. Being a regular matters. A trader who knows you gives better prices and better advice.
4. Associations run things. Markets have their own trader associations and leaders, who deal with the government on behalf of members.
5. Markets move. Demolitions, fires and relocations are part of Lagos market history, so check before you travel.

Why this matters in AJ Cities

AJ Cities, our free browser game, is set in a fictional estate on the edge of Ajegunle, where Navy Town meets Kirikiri. There is no Alaba or Balogun in it. But the Lagos trading spirit is in it, mostly in the shape of Benny, a fast-talking area boy who sells phone credit in the morning, chargers by ten, fuel in jerrycans when the pumps run dry, cold water when the light goes and umbrellas the minute it rains. He keeps every deal in a notebook with a rubber band round it: who owes, who paid, what is moving this week. If you have ever bought anything in a Lagos market, you have met somebody like Benny. Read his story in Danger and Benny.

What is the biggest market in Lagos?

Nobody publishes a reliable, comparable count, so there is no honest single answer. Balogun is the best known; Alaba is described as Nigeria’s largest electronics market; Computer Village is often called the largest of its kind in Africa.

Which Lagos market is best for fabric?

Balogun Market on Lagos Island, known for lace, Ankara and aso-oke.

Where do Lagosians buy phones and laptops?

Computer Village in Ikeja. Buy from a trader someone you trust has used, and test everything before paying.

Where is the car spare parts market in Lagos?

Ladipo Market in Mushin, on and around Ladipo Street in Papa Ajao.