The Akankan community in Ede, Osun State, was thrown into mourning in the early hours of Monday, following a midnight fire tragedy that claimed the lives of a Customs officer, his wife and four children. But his fifth son escaped narrowly.
The devastating fire reportedly engulfed the residence of the officer, Tijani Kabiru, attached to the Oyo/Osun Command by 3.00 am and raged it almost completely before help could come by fire fighters.
A neighbour, Kola, who witnessed the tragic event said: “I can’t say when the fire started, but we observed smoke there at about 3am. The response time of the firemen was not bad, but the house had been badly affected before the fire could be subdued. Kabiru, his wife, and four children were already burnt to death. But one of the children escaped.”
Kola also disclosed that firefighters from the Ede Fire Station were promptly contacted after smoke was detected but before they arrived, the fire had already raged the much part of the house.
The spokesperson for the Osun State Fire Service, Ibraheem Adekunle, confirmed the incident in a statement signed by the Director of the Service, Mr Olaniyi Alimi.
“We were informed of the incident via a distress call to our emergency number 08030808254 at 3:21 a.m. Our team from Ede Zonal Command proceeded to the scene, with a backup team joining from the Fire Service Headquarters in Abere,” the statement said.
“The address of the fire incident is Customs Tijani Kabiru Road, Akankan Area, Ede North LG. The street was named after the deceased, who was a Customs officer from the Oyo/Osun Command,” it added.
“Mr Tijani Kabiru, reported to be in his late 40s, and his wife, said to be in her early 40s, lost their lives alongside four of their children—three boys and a girl—aged between three and 10 years. The estimated loss from the inferno is around N200 million, while property worth N500 million was saved.”
The remains of the deceased have been handed over to officers from the A’ Division of the Nigeria Police Force.
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