Inset photo used for illustrative purpose only
Two sisters, 5-year-old Rokibat, and 3-year-old Amirat, were burnt
to death at their parents’ house on the Ifelodun Close in Ajasa Command
on Tuesday in the Ipaja area of Lagos State after a fire incident
suspected to have been caused by a candle.
The victim's mother was said to have hurriedly taken two of their
siblings to safety and had returned to carry them when the severity of
the inferno kept her back, as the remains of the victims were said to
have been taken away by their relatives.
According to Punch Metro, sympathisers and other residents put out
the fire before the arrival of officials of the Lagos State Fire Service
who received the alert late and had problem locating the area.
It was gathered that the fire gutted three apartments in the
bungalow. A tenant, who did not wish to be identified, said the fire
started around 12:00 am.
“I don’t know what caused it. What I can say is that around
12am, while I was asleep, my wife suddenly woke up and raised the alarm
that our neighbour’s apartment was on fire.
“We later gathered that the woman and her four children were
asleep when one of the children, who was in the parlour, screamed that
fire was burning. Their mother grabbed him and their last born and took
them to safety.
“As she attempted to run back to save the two girls who were
still asleep, she could not open their iron door. The fire then
aggravated and sympathisers had to pull her back. The two girls were
burnt to death,” he said.
Investigations revealed that the family had been going through some hard times, which culminated in the incident.
According to a source, the children’s father had been detained in a
police cell three days earlier over a contract he failed to execute.
“The contract involved N900,000 but he did not carry it out. His client
got the police to arrest him.
“The man said he had already bought the materials for the job
and he was ready to execute it, but his client insisted on collecting
the money, saying he was no longer interested in the job.
“On Monday, the man’s wife went to beg the client to release
her husband. She told him that the family was suffering, but he refused.
“She went round different places to seek help and returned home
around 11pm. She was obviously tired and dosed off and when the fire
started around 12am, she was unaware. By the time her son woke her up,
it was too late.”
The Director of the Lagos State Fire Service, Rasak Fadipe, confirmed the incident. “The fire affected a bungalow consisting of five apartments. We were not called on time.
“From our investigations, there has not been light in the area
for some days now. Some of the residents said it was a candle stick
that caused the fire. The woman probably forgot to put it out, which
led to the inferno.”
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