A resident of Osun State as a man, his wife, and four of their five children have died in a tragic fire outbreak that took place at their home in the Akankan area of Ede.
The man was identified as Tijani Kabiru, who was said to be a Nigerian Customs officer.
Only child, a 13-year-old boy, survived the tragedy.
Though nobody could say when the fire started by neighbours said they noticed the smoke at about 3am and alerted the fire service.
The firefighters from the Ede Fire Station were reportedly responded promptly but much of the house had been consumed by the fire before their arrival.
According to a neighbour: “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.”
A statement signed by Mr Olaniyi Alimi, the Director of the Service but shared by Ibraheem Adekunle, the spokesperson for the Osun State Fire Service, confirmed the tragedy.
“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 read.
“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 charred remains of the victims were handed over to the police.
