DECEMBER 15, 2012 BY ENIOLA AKINKUOTU
Five children between the ages of four and 12 were killed in an inferno in the Kirikiri area of Lagos State on Thursday.
Saturday PUNCH learnt that the five children,
Emeka 12, Ifeanyi 10, Chinasa eight, Joy six,
and Bright four, who are of the same
parents, were burnt alive at their home
located at 29 Comfort Oboh Street, Kirikiri.
The parents of the victims were identified as
Ogbonna and Margaret Igwuagwu.
Our correspondent learnt that although over
30 people live in the compound, which was
completely consumed by the fire, only the
five children died.
Sympathisers were said to have surrounded
the premises crying and wailing over the
incident, while charred remains of the
victims were being evacuated.
According to residents, the fire started at
about 11.30 pm in the room where the five
children were sleeping and later spread to
other rooms all made of wood.
The parents of the children were said to
have locked them inside the room and lit a
candle for them as there was no electricity
supply.
Neighbours said it was the usual habit of
the parents to lock the children inside the
room whenever they were going to their
shop in the evening.
It was learnt that the children slept off while
the candle fell, thereby spreading the fire to
other parts of the room. Woken by the heat,
they were said to have shouted for help
while the fire raged, but neighbours were
too busy saving themselves.
One of the neighbours said the eldest son,
Emeka, had begged his parents not to lock
them in but allow them to spend sometime
outside but their mother refused.
“I can vividly remember when Mama Emeka
ordered her children to go and sleep, saying
that she needed to go back to attend to
customers who were waiting for her.
Emeka, the eldest, pleaded that they should
be allowed to stay outside for a while.
“She insisted that they should go to bed
since they were to travel the following day. I
believe that it was in a bid to prevent them
from running out of the house that she
locked them inside and went away with the
key,” she said.
Some neighbours told journalists that they
heard the wailing of the children when the
fire was raging, but could not break
through to rescue them due to a hard
burglar proof that was used at the entrance
of the room.
According to residents who witnessed the
incident, firefighters were informed but
could not get to the scene due to bad roads
in Kirirkiri.
A resident, who wished to remain
anonymous, said, “The road is not passable
and there is always traffic congestion in that
area. Men of the Naval Fire Service got here
first, but they could not help the situation
because the damage had already been
done.”
One of the tenants, Udoh Bassey, whose
room was also burnt, told journalists that no
one could say exactly what caused the fire.
“It started at about 11.30 pm when some of
us were still awake. It was the cry from that
room that attracted my attention. The entire
compound was razed down before help
could come our way. I was able to save a
few of my property because my room was
located far away from the source of the fire.
“The children died because their parents
locked them inside the house and went
back to their shops close by. We tried but
before we could reach them, there was an
explosion from one room to the other as all
the other rooms were razed down.”
When contacted, spokesperson for the state
police command, Ngozi Braide, said the
parents of the victims had suffered shock
and were rushed to hospital.
“At about 11.20pm, police received a call
that a house in Kirikiri was on fire. The
house was made of wood and corrugated
iron sheets and the fire engulfed it. Five
children died in the fire,” she said.