Fire: Oko Baba Residents Send SOS To Fashola

Residents of Okobaba in Ebute Meta, Lagos Mainland Local Government Area have appealed to the Lagos State government to come to their aid by demolishing the shanties to stop the incessant fire in the area.

Speaking with P.M.NEWS at the scene of the recent fire which claimed more than five lives and destroyed properties worth thousands of Naira, a resident, Mrs. Ene Okon said the incident was the fourth in 2011.

She called on the government to move in the bulldozers and destroy all the plank houses being used by criminals to cause havoc in the area. She accused the criminals of deliberately setting fire on the plank houses in order to loot properties of residents.

“If the Lagos State government refuses to demolish the shanties and build good houses there, fire will continue to occur in the area,” she stated.

She described the shanties as havens for criminals displaced from other parts of the state, adding that demolishing them will save other residents from frequent attacks by armed hoodlums.

Tragedy struck at the area on 30 December when more than five persons were burnt to death in the fire which destroyed properties worth thousands of naira. A part of the 3rd Mainland Bridge was also affected.

The fire started at 11.30 p.m Friday, 30 December and was put off the following day by firemen from the Lagos State Fire Service.

P.M.NEWS gathered that the fire started from an Indian hemp joint being operated under the bridge in the area. One of the miscreants which populated the area was said to have lighted an Indian hemp beside a leaking generating set which caught fire and exploded.

One of the miscreants disputed this version of the cause of the fire. He explained that the fire started from a shanty owned by one Mama Ibo who was cooking Indomie noodle and forgot it on fire. The pot, it was learnt, caught fire and the fire spread to other shanties.

Witnesses told P.M.NEWS that the fire became uncontrollable when generating sets being used by many of the occupants started exploding. Thirty plank houses were razed down. They also identified one of the victims as Baba Jebba.

He was said to have attempted to pick his television set after escaping from the fire but fell down and was burnt to death.

The residents disclosed further that the firemen did not show up until the fire had destroyed their properties.

Policemen from the Denton Division, Oyingbo and a team of KAI officials led by Semiu Karaole arrived the scene on time to maintain law and other, it was gathered.

Investigations revealed further that some of the victims were deposited in the Ikeja Hospital mortuary while others were buried at the Atan Cemetery while those injured were rushed to the nearest hospital for treatment.

—Paul Iyoghojie