The 44-year-old, Ibadan-born estate agent, Tunde Emmanuel, whose three children died in a fire outbreak on Friday in the Oyo State capital, Ibadan, has described his kids’ demise as a mystery and an act of God.

Flavision gathered that the three youngsters were locked up in their house at night, while their parents were away.

Attempts by the deceased children: Glory, 14; Samuel, 8; and Darasimi, 3, to escape from the fire outbreak were said to have proved futile, because the alternative exit was inaccessible.

While explaining the reasons why the kids were locked up inside the house at midnight on that tragic day, Emmanuel said he could not give the details of the incident, because he was not present at the scene during the fire incident.

Emmanuel, while being interrogated by the police as of the time this report was being filed, said his wife, Christiana, was working in a beer parlour when the tragedy struck.

He said,

I don’t know how it happened. Let’s just hand everything over to God. Even my neighbours could not say something cogent on how it happened. I don’t understand them.

The children used to sleep at home alone. I’m not always around. I went for a programme that night; it was a vigil.

My wife went to the store where she sells beer. The place is owned by her pastor. I have been at the Sanyo Police Station since the incident happened. The police are interrogating me.

On Saturday, the Deputy Director of Oyo State Fire Service, Mr Moshood Adewuyi, gave insight that the outbreak was caused by an electrical surge from appliances that were put on earlier, but not attended to when NEPA restored power.

The family lives in a room and a parlour. The fire started in the living room. The alternative door where the children could have used to escape had been blocked with their belongings.

“It was wrong for the parents to leave the children behind unattended to. They have a limitation of reasoning. Nothing stopped them (the children) from going for prayers too. We urge people to always switch off all appliances when there is no light to avoid fire outbreak.

Justin Nwosu

Justin Nwosu is the founder and publisher of Flavision. His core interest is in writing unbiased news about Nigeria in particular and Africa in general. He’s a strong adherent of investigative journalism, with a bent on exposing corruption, abuse of power and societal ills.