Family Of Seven Burnt To Death In Lagos

A fire incident that occurred in an apartment located on 21,Michael Ogun Street, Obele Lawanson in Lagos has left six

members of a family dead and the last member still battling for her life in a hospital.

It was reported that the fire started from the fridge in the kitchen around 11.pm on Tuesday, September 8, while members of the family were asleep. It then spread

to the living room and the bedrooms.

In the house were Mr. Kelechi Ali, his wife, Nkiru, Onoja, their three children named Onoja, Favour and Chidinma aged three weeks, three years and eight years

respectively.

Also in the house were Onoja’s mother and two children who had come to spend the summer holiday there.

According to Vanguard, the members of the family screamed for help when the fire started but it was alleged that their neighbours refused to heed to the call

due to the tension that existed between them. 

By the time officials of the Lagos State Fire Service arrived, all members of the household had been burnt to death except Chidinma who was badly burnt but still alive.

A neighbor said it was because of the quarrel that existed between the family and their neighbours that made the neighbours refuse to help them.

“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.”

High Chief Kareem Jinadu Awoyemi, the traditional ruler of Surulere reportedly cried when he visited the site of the fire incident and blamed the neighbours for

their inaction.

He 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?” Some persons, angered by the inaction of the neighbours

tried to attack them and burn the two houses but the intervention of the police prevented another tragedy.

A neighbor was seen collecting money from

sympathisers for chidinma who was still in the hospital.

“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.’’

However, a source who identified himself as Ogedengbe dismissed allegations that the neighbours refused to help the family.

He said: "Neighbors rushed to assist but they couldn't save them. The fire killed the man, his wife, their three children, and their grandmother."

UPDATED : The last surviving member of a family of seven that perished in a fire accident in Lagos has reportedly passed away.

The young girl, Chidinma was in critical condition when she was rushed to the hospital after other members of the family had died. She passed away on Thursday,

September 10 in an undisclosed hospital in Lagos.

Naijcom