The family of the four victims who died in a fire incident at Kundila Layin Baba Impossible, Tarauni LGA, last Wednesday has dismissed claims that a mosquito coil sparked the blaze.
The state fire service’s preliminary investigation indicated that they had used mosquito coils in their parlour before going to bed, and when the house was gutted around 4 am, the father, mother, and two children were burnt to death.
A statement from its spokesperson, Saminu Yusif Abdullahi, noted that five people were trapped in the fire: the father, mother, and three children.
According to Abdullahi, the victims were Shodandi (43), the father of the children, Rafi'a (30), the housewife, Mardiya Shodandi (3), and Yusira Shodandi (one year and six months old).
"Four of them were burnt to death," the statement read.
"In addition, a boy named Aminu Shodandi, aged about 12 years old, was successfully rescued alive.”
Condoling the family on behalf of the agency, Yusuf urged the public to be "careful when handling the fire, more especially during this harmattan season.”
But Nigeria Info spoke to the lone survivor, Aminu Shodeinde (14), who acknowledged that although mosquito coils were regularly used in the house, the recent inferno was not caused by them.
Aminu, who is a nephew of Rofi'a, narrated that he woke up to screams around 3 a.m., “looking for keys to open the door. When the fire wasn’t reducing, he (the father) went in to rescue the children in the room and did not return.”
“We often use mosquito coils in the house, but it was not what caused this fire,” he disclosed.
Corroborating Aminu’s story, Abdulraheem Abdulsalam, father of Rofia (30), the late mother, suspected a possible murder following repeated misunderstandings and burglaries at the home of the deceased.
He said he got an emergency call around 4 am alerting him to the incident, but before arriving at the scene, the four victims had been burnt beyond recognition.
Abdulsalam revealed that following the three incidents of theft in the house, he warned that they would relocate from the area, but his plea was not heeded until the final blow that struck the camel’s back.
“People are saying that it was a mosquito coil, but what I saw there was not. When you get there, you’ll notice that they sprayed the house with petrol and set it on fire,” he explained.
He also revealed that in one of the incidents, the suspects were arrested but later bailed after three days, saying, “it is not a matter of police.
“I do tell them to leave since they (thieves) do follow the fence into the house. But the husband said we should leave them there.”
Abdulsalam, visibly distraught, said the parents were burnt to death while holding their children in their arms, and were buried in the same position.
Despite burying his loved ones, the bereaved father declined calls for further investigation, saying he had left all to God.
“If it were people that did the job, they would not go free, by the grace of God,” he prayed.
