Jibowu Fire: Movie Actor, Other Victims Lament Losses

By Muda Oyeniran

Segun Remi a.k.a. Chief KanranIT was indeed a bad Wednesday morning for residents of Ojelade Street in the Jibowu area of Lagos as an early morning inferno destroyed, right before their very eyes, what they had laboured for over many years.

At the end of the episode, it was pains, anguish, sorrow and lamentation galore as some of them could still not believe what happened. Not less than 21 vehicles and 5 houses were completely destroyed by the inferno.

According to those who witnessed the incident, the fire was caused by a truck loaded with ethanol which crossed from the expressway to the service lane, when somersaulted and later caught fire.
A Yoruba movie artiste, Segun Remi, popularly called

“Karan” who resides in the area and whose house was affected by the fire told Saturday Tribune that the fire started around 3.30am which forced residents of the area to wake up after a loud explosion. According to him, the ethanol being carried by the truck spread across the street and immediately caught fire resulting in the explosion. “You know how inflammable the combination of petrol and ethanol could be. It was a terrible scene,” he said. “Although he disclosed that residents of the area made frantic efforts to quench the fire initially when it started, using detergent and water, he said all their efforts proved abortive. We immediately called the firemen, but the network was initially bad. When we eventually reached them, their response was slow. Some did not have water and those that have water did not have fuel, so we had to push the lorry with water down to the scene. Even when they got here, they were scared and could not climb the ladder to see what was wrong,” he added.

Saturday Tribune also gathered that some of the residents who had business interests in the area had to hire Union Bank fire fighters, a private company, that eventually put off the fire. Some of the residents who spoke to Saturday Tribune urged government to provide modern fire-fighting equipment and adequate training for firemen in order for them to perform their duties efficiently.Although no life was lost in the incident, residents have continued to count their losses.

A view of the street after the fire outbreak“Kanran” said he lost virtually all his belongings, adding that he could not remove even a pin from the building. He also said that he sustained injury while trying to save his life and those of others. For Mr. Kenchukwu Luba, Managing Director, Ground Air Travel Agencies, a private transport company in the area, the company lost to the inferno four vehicles estimated at N15 million. “When the fire started, I was called upon and came when the vehicles were still burning; this is indeed a terrible morning for me,” he added.
Ayum Medical Centre, a hospital located in the area was also said to have lost property worth millions of naira.

Mrs. Funke Adedokun who resides at No 4, Ojelade Street, said nothing could be salvaged from the house as the inferno consumed three of her husband’s cars including a jeep, a Mercedes Benz , V-boot car and a 504 station wagon.

Mr. George Orie who is also a resident said about 60 people lived in the building he occupied and all of them had their cars, buses and property completely burnt. Another resident, Mr. Seun Awoseye told Saturday Tribune that the only property he now had were his wife and new-born baby, adding that everything else had been destroyed by the fire.

A driver, Mr. Ema Adejare also lost his new Toyota Hiace mini- bus parked in the area of the inferno. According to him, he was sleeping in the bus when he heard the explosion and quickly jumped out. Meanwhile, the driver of the ill-fated tanker is now at large even as the police have declared a manhunt on him. Mr. Frank Mba said police had commenced investigation into the incident. According to him, the police are not going to treat the matter with levity in view of the colossal damage caused by the accident.

In the meantime, the victims of the fire disasters have made a passionate appeal to the Lagos State government to come to their aid. According to most of them, the fire disaster has rendered them homeless with all their belongings lost in the inferno. Saturday Tribune learnt that most of the property destroyed by the inferno were not insured, thereby leaving the owners helpless and hopeless. Experts have estimated the total loss in the inferno to be close to N100 million.