Lagos—Tragedy struck yesterday after a family of seven was
roasted in a fire that engulfed a building at Lawanson, Surulere, Lagos.
However,
doctors at the Intensive Care Unit of Gbagada General Hospital are battling
to save the life of the seventh member of the family, eight-year-old
Chidinma who sustained serious burns.
Among
those who lost their lives in the inferno, whose cause could not be immediately
ascertained, were Mr. Kelechi Ali, his wife, Nkiru, Onoja, their baby
boy of about three weeks old, their son, Favour, of about three years
old.
Also
killed in the fire was Onoja’s mother, who was on a visit to care for her
nursing daughter, and two other children, aged eight and ten years
respectively, who were said to have visited for the summer holiday.
The
grandmother, said to be in her 60s, had reportedly concluded plans to
return to her base at Nsukka , Enugu State yesterday before the unfortunate
incident.
The
fire, it was gathered, started in Ali’s self-contained apartment located
on 21, Michael Ogun Street, Obele Lawanson, at about 11pm Tuesday while the
family was asleep.
It
reportedly raged for over an hour before the arrival of the fire service.
Their shout for help alerted other residents but no one heeded the call.
Vanguard gathered that their charred remains were recovered in
different positions by men of Lagos State Fire Service.
The
charred remains of the father was said to have been mangled together with two
of his children, while that of his wife was seen with her little baby on her
chest.
When
Vanguard visited the scene yesterday, those on rescue were still sighted
clearing the debris. An eyewitness, who identified herself as Abure Hanna,
said: “A few minutes into my sleep, I heard voices which sounded
like people were quarrelling.
‘’Later,
I heard shout of fire from the next compound. I ran out and
started calling neighbours to come and help. I think the fire had been on for about
30 minutes before I came out. The fire service came late to the scene after the
fire had been doused by residents.”
Another
resident, who pleaded anonymity, stated that the family members could have been
rescued had neighbours went for their rescue on time.
“Everybody
stayed put in their houses even when the family was shouting for help. This is
because of the lingering quarrel between the family and their neighbours.
‘’As
you can see, there are three houses in the compound but the middle
one occupied by the Onojas was the one affected. This is not ordinary
because even the connecting wires to other buildings were not affected. “
TRADITIONAL
RULER BREAKS DOWN
The
traditional ruler of Surulere, High Chief Kareem Jinadu Awoyemi,
broke down in tears as he arrived the scene, blaming other neighbours for not
rising to the help of the affected family.
Awoyemi
said: “There are issues brought to me that occupants of the three buildings in
the compound were never in good terms.
‘’This
is just too much. How could this type of thing escalate to this level when the
victims had neighbours?.“ At this point, he stopped, shook his head and burst
into tears again before leaving the scene.
ATTEMPT
TO BURN OTHER BUILDINGS FOILED
When
news of the neglect by other neighbours filtered round, some aggrieved persons
suspected to be members of the deceased family attempted to burn down the
two other buildings whose tenants were accused of turning deaf ears to
their relatives’ cry for help.
Attempt
by some sympathisers to stop this move resulted in an altercation that almost
led to a fight. It took the intervention of policemen from Surulere Division,
led by the DPO, Mr Monday Agbonika, to arrest the situation.
But
when Vanguard approached him at the scene, he declined comments,
referring Vanguard to the State Police Public Relations Officer.
One
of the aggrieved relatives who refused to disclose his identity said: “The
family went to the market yesterday to get items for the mother-in-law as their
tradition demands to celebrate the arrival of the new born baby after one month
of Omugwo.
‘’This
morning, they were supposed to go to the village, the man has already purchased
bus tickets and now they are dead. The father was a trader who sold sewing
materials on Lagos Island, while his wife, is a parishioner at Saint Mulumba
Catholic Church, Lawanson, Lagos.’’
DONATIONS
FOR SURVIVOR
Meanwhile,
a man was seen collecting money from sympathisers . When asked what the
money was meant for, the man who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “We are
donating for the treatment of the little girl that is in the hospital. Chidinma
(survivor) is in critical condition in the hospital and we are doing all we can
to ensure her survival. Doctors said she has a fifty-fifty chance of
survival.’’
Lagos
State Fire Service Director, Rasaq Fadipe, said fire trucks were deployed to
the scene immediately the distress call was received.
