On Wednesday in
Obele Lawanson Community, Surulere, Lagos, a family of seven died in a
fire disaster.The victims, who lived on 23, Michael Ogun Street, died
because their co-tenants did not make effort to rescue them when they
called out for help around 11.30pm on Tuesday.
Those killed
were a textile material dealer, 28-year-old Kelechi Onoja; his wife,
18-year-old Nkiru; their one year and eight months old first child,
Favour; their three weeks unnamed second baby boy; two
yet-to-be-identified family members; and Nkiru’s 80-year-old mother.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the only survivor was six-year-old Chidinma, a relative, who sustained burns injuries to her face and hands.
Our correspondent gathered that Nkiru had just given birth to her baby and her mother had visited for theOmugo rites, a popular Igbo culture of a mother nursing her daughter’s baby.
She was said to be preparing to return on Wednesday with the two unnamed ladies she brought with her, when tragedy struck.
The landlord of the house was late, while his immediate son lived in the Ijesha area.
The landlord’s grandson, Abdul Jelili, who lives opposite the apartment, said,
“I was sleeping
when I heard a noise and quickly rushed out. I saw smoke coming out of
their apartment and quickly got a stick, with which I broke their toilet
window.
“Smoke billowed
out, but I did not hear any movement in the house and could not tell if
anybody was in. All the tenants in the other apartments did not come
out, so I had to rush out to call for help.”
Another
resident, Ejike Okpara, explained that the neighbours did not help
because there was animosity among the five tenants in the house.He said
Nkiru had been accused of not greeting the other tenants, among other
issues, which had caused series of fight in the neighbourhood.
He said,
“So, when the
fire began, the neighbours from both sides did not come out. When they
finally came out, it was to rescue their families.”
But a tenant, Uzor Alajemba, said he had to first rescue his family when he heard someone raise the alarm.
PUNCH Metro learnt that youths and other members of the community eventually mobilised to the scene to combat the inferno.
A man, who
claimed to be part of the rescue, Chima Dimkpa, explained that the
burglar-proof bars made rescue difficult.It was learnt that the grandma
had used a candle light to bathe the baby in the night, and forgot to
put it off.
Our
correspondent was told that after burning out, the fire ignited the
table and engulfed the room. The 80-year-old woman was burnt to death.
Kelechi, who had also woken up with other members of the family, reportedly called for help.
He was said to
have held tightly to the two sisters, while his wife carried their boy
in her hand. They were burnt to death together.Dimkpa said,
“We could have rescued them but for the bars. Everything was smoking hot and untouchable, including the wall.”
A landlord on Ade Close, whose house shared a fence with the apartment, told PUNCH Metro the fire could have escalated, but for the support of his tenants.
The man said he mobilised his tenants to fight the flames from the roof.
A security
guard, Desmond Mazeli, explained that officials of the Federal Fire
Service arrived at the scene around 2am on Wednesday, adding that the
lone survivor was taken out through the window.
Mazeli said no one knew the victim was in the toilet, until she coughed and was quickly rescued by the firefighters.
He said,
“I used a
neighbour’s car to convey her to a private hospital in our area, while
somebody called the Lagos State Emergency Ambulance Service.
“At about 3am,
the ambulance arrived, together with policemen from the Area C command.
She was taken to the Gbagada General Hospital.”
 |
| Kelechi |
Our
correspondent observed as some friends and family members of the
deceased, who got the news on Wednesday, broke down in tears.
Nkiru’s brother, Michael Awuzie, said they had arranged to see the family on Sunday for the child’s christening.
Awuzie wondered why it was only their apartment that was affected, adding that the police needed to investigate.
He said,
“Mama went to the market yesterday in preparation to leave for the village today (Wednesday) with the foodstuffs for the Omugo.
“It was to
announce to the villagers that her daughter had given birth and she had
brought the foodstuffs as a proof of the good news. And now, they have
all died.”
The traditional
leader of the Surulere area, Kareem Awoyemi, said he could not believe
that the neighbours deserted the victims when they called for help.
Awoyemi said,
“I still don’t understand it. Are people not living in this house?”
Our
correspondent learnt that the deceased’s charred remains had been handed
over to the police, who had deposited them in a morgue.
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