Five children between the ages of
four and 12 were killed in an inferno in the Kirikiri area of Lagos State on
Thursday.
It was 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.