A fire disaster has claimed lives of a man, his wife and their grandson at Ori-Eru, Idikan area of the Oyo State capital, Ibadan.
The tragedy, which affected a storey building, occurred in the early hours of Friday, December 20, 2024.
The General Manager of the Oyo State Fire Services Agency, Yemi Akinyinka, disclosed this in a statement released on Friday in Ibadan.
Akinyinka said the agency received a distress call about the fire at 3:46 am on Friday from one Hassan and immediately deployed personnel to the scene.
“On arrival, we found the upper floor of a six-room residential storey building engulfed in flames. We swiftly swung into action, and the fire was completely extinguished,” he said.
Akinyinka confirmed that three people — a husband, his wife, and their grandson — lost their lives in the fire, while five others were rescued alive from the building.
He added that the ground floor and nearby properties were saved from the inferno.
“From our investigation, we discovered that in their attempt to keep their house warm due to the cold weather, they resorted to using a naked flame, which led to the fire disaster after they had fallen asleep,” he explained.
The general manager also noted that a team of policemen, led by CSP Olaniyan Jibola from Mapo Division, and operatives of Amotekun, led by Gbenga Akinyemi from the North West Division, were on the scene to maintain law and order.
This incident comes as the residents of the city are still reeling from a FunFair disaster that claimed lives of 35 children while six persons were also critically injured and are currently receiving treatment.
The incident occurred at Islamic High School, Bashorun, Ibadan where thousands of children and family members had gathered for advertised cash handouts and food distributions.
It was organized by ex Ooni of Ife’s wife, Olori Naomi Silekunola, the Women In Need Of Guidance and Support Foundation, and Agidigbo 88.7 FM.
The free event, which had been held in previous years, targeted children aged 0-13 years and advertised distributions of N5,000 to N5,000 children, free food, and event prizes which included scholarships.
Attendees began arriving at the funfair as early as 5:00 AM, five hours before the scheduled start time. Reports indicated that over 5,000 children assembled at the venue.
The fatal crush occurred when the event organizers arrived to commence proceedings, though the exact sequence of events remains under investigation.
Meanwhile, the police cliamed to have arrested eight individuals connected to the event, including the primary organizer, Naomi Silekunola, and the school principal. The organizing body of the event, The Women In Need Of Guidance and Support Foundation, faced immediate scrutiny over their role in the tragedy.
The case was subsequently transferred to the Homicide Section of the State Criminal Investigation Department, and was placed under the direct supervision of the Deputy Commissioner of Police.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in his reaction ordered a comprehensive investigation, and expressed condolences to affected families.
