What!!! Fire Kills Family Of Seven In Lagos Apartment (Photos)

Tempers flared on Wednesday on

Obele Lawanson Community,

Surulere, Lagos, after a family of

seven died in a fire disaster.

Our correspondent was told that 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

the Omugo 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, who did not identify

himself, 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.”

Our correspondent observed as some

friends and family members of the

deceased, who got the news on

Wednesday, broke down in tears.

Kelechi’s elder sister, Obioma Onoja,

said she was only told there was a

fire outbreak in the house, but not

that her brother’s family was

involved.

She said, “I got a call this morning

that there was a fire outbreak in

their house. I did not know the

whole family was dead.”

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.

The spokesperson for the National

Emergency Management Agency,

South-West Zone, Ibrahim Farinloye,

said, “ The cause of the fire is yet to

be known.”

The Director of the Lagos State Fire

Service, Rasak Fadipe, said the

agency responded to 12 fire disasters

over the night, explaining that there

was a need for increased vigilance

among residents.

“We are still at a loss over why the

casualty was that high because the

fire itself was not that severe.

“The kitchen was not affected, so

nobody can explain why it was that

serious,” he said.

The Police Public Relations Officer,

Lagos State Command, Joe Offor,

confirmed the incident.

He added that the police had taken

the corpses to a morgue.