Endless tears, sorrow as fire consumes customs officer, wife, four children

Tijani Kabiru, a Nigerian Customs officer, his wife, and four of their five children were in the early hours of Monday consumed by a tragic fire outbreak at their home in the Akankan area of Ede, Osun State.

The only survivor,  a 13-year-old boy,  escaped the fire by the whiskers.

The tragedy has left residents in shock and grief.

According to an eyewitness, nobody could tell when the fire started but neighbours woke up at about 3am to see that their house had been engulfed by fire.

It was gathered that firefighters from the Ede Fire Station were promptly contacted but before their arrival, much of the house had been consumed by the fire.

“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 neighbours to the deceased family said.

Ibraheem Adekunle, the spokesperson for the Osun State Fire Service, confirmed the tragedy and shared a statement signed by Mr Olaniyi Alimi, the Director of the Service.

“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.”