A Customs officer identified as Tijani Kabiru, along with his wife and four children, tragically lost their lives in a fire that engulfed their home in Ede, Osun State, in the early hours of Monday, December 2, 2024.
The incident, which occurred in the Akankan area, has left the local community in shock and mourning. The fire reportedly started around 3:00 a.m., when neighbours noticed smoke coming from the Kabiru family's residence.
One neighbour, identified only as Kola, described seeing the smoke and quickly alerted the Ede Fire Station. Despite the rapid response from firefighters, the house had already suffered extensive damage by the time they arrived on the scene.
Kola, who is in his 40s, stated that although the fire service responded promptly, the blaze had already claimed the lives of Kabiru, his wife, and their four children ranging in age from 3 to 10 years before it was brought under control. “The fire had been burning for some time before we noticed the smoke at around 3:00 a.m. The firefighters did their best, but the house was almost destroyed by the time they arrived,” Kola explained.
He added that one of the children, a 13-year-old boy, managed to escape the fire.The Osun State Fire Service confirmed the tragedy in a statement issued by its spokesperson, Ibraheem Adekunle, and signed by the agency’s Director, Olaniyi Alimi. The statement detailed that six lives were lost in the blaze, and the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
According to the Fire Service, the distress call was made at 3:21 a.m., prompting immediate action from the Ede Zonal Command, with additional support from the Fire Service Headquarters in Abere. The fire occurred on Tijani Kabiru Road, a street named after the deceased officer, in the Akankan area of Ede North Local Government.
The statement further revealed that the Kabiru family’s estimated losses due to the fire were around ₦200 million, while the value of the property saved was approximately ₦500 million. The bodies of the deceased were handed over to the A' Division of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF). Authorities are continuing to investigate the cause of the fire. This devastating incident has left the community reeling, with many offering their condolences to the surviving child, who narrowly escaped the flames.