The 13-year-old boy who miraculously escaped the devastating midnight fire that engulfed the residence of a Customs officer, Tijani Kabiru, attached to the Oyo/Osun Command, has recounted how his father (Kabiru), mother and four siblings died in the tragic attack.
The inferno had killed the customs officer, his wife, and four of their children in the Akankan Area of Ede, Osun State in the early hours of Monday.
The Point gathered that the family members had gone to bed when the fire broke out at midnight.
Firefighters from the Ede Fire Station were promptly contacted after smoke was detected by neighbours.
However, by the time they arrived, the fire had already consumed much of the house, killing all the occupants except the 13-year-old boy.
The spokesperson for the Osun State Fire Service, Ibraheem Adekunle, had confirmed the incident, saying, “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.
“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 were handed over to officers from the A’ Division of the Nigeria Police Force.
Meanwhile, the lone survivor explained that the fire started around 2:40am after an electric spark within the roof of the house immediately power was restored.
According to the boy, he was reading in his room that night while his parents and siblings were inside the master bedroom.
In an interview, the boy disclosed that the fire had provoked a very thick smoke within the master bedroom, a situation that had suffocated the occupants and made them unconscious.
The boy said after he managed to gain entry into the room, he saw his father and others on the floor and that he lacked the strength to drag his father out.
At that point, he revealed that some neighbours who had detected the fire, scaled through the fence and started banging the door.
“I struggled to open the door for them and immediately they stepped into our apartment, the fire became more intense and as we tried to make way into Alhaji’s room, the roof suddenly collapsed. The neighbours then took me out of the apartment and that was how Alhaji (Kabiru), my mummy and siblings got burnt in the fire,” he explained.
